I own several JMs but have decided to plant my new Mikawa Yatsubusa in a pot and put it by the front door. I have a couple specific questions about the potting and would also like some good resources about potting a maple in general. 1. Can I use as large of a pot as I want or does the pot need to be sized in proportion to the size of the tree? The MY is about 20" tall so it's not very large at this time. We have a tall gap between the concrete slab and the roof line of the house so we would like to use a large pot to fill the space. Will this cause any problems for the maple to grow properly? I want the tree to get larger so I do not consider the large pot a negative in that way. 2. Any harm in planting additional plants and/or flowers in the pot with the MY? I assume not. Also, any suggestions or photos of this would be helpful. 3. I know JMs require well drained soil and I am fortunate that the overall soil quality at my home is great for the trees. How do I need to go about constructing the soil in the pot to make sure it drains well? As an addition to the first question, if I use a large pot will that cause a problem for drainage? Thanks for all of your help.
Do you have a picture of the tree? Is it currently potted at this time? If so, what pot size is it in right now? For me, I don't really go by the size of the tree (though that obviously is a factor), but rather the size of the rootball. You can have a fairly tall tree with only a smallish rootball (for the size), or vice versa. For example, my Momoiro koyasan is a solid 5-6' tall, but it's a bean pole and is in a 3g pot because that's what the rootball warranted, though it is time to either plant out or go up to a 5g. My Otome zakura, on the other hand, when I got it was in a 1g pot and I up-potted into a 2g; within a year, I had to go to a 3g because the rootball grew so much - and the tree was only 18" or so tall. As you can see, tree to rootball size can vary greatly. Also, you don't want the pot too much larger than the rootball because the soil won't dry out enough in between and you run the risk of the roots rotting. My general rule of thumb is the rootball should nicely fill at least 1/2 (or a little more) of the pot, this gives room to grow for 2-3 years in most circumstances. If you want to use a large pot to fill in an area because the tree is smaller, then use something like this http://www.ups-a-daisy.com/ to reduce the area that is filled with soil. (And if you have to move said pot, your back will thank you too, lol.) You could use a different style of pot too, one that is wider and shorter vs. taller and narrower. Since maples tend to have a shallower, broader root system, I tend to favor broad pots (like whiskey-barrel type resin pots) instead of deeper narrower pots - and another benefit of this is, when it does come time to re-pot, it is MUCH easier to get the tree out, something not a lot of people think about when pot shopping. Those oval shaped pots that bulge out in the center and have a narrower bottom and top - HORRIBLE to get a tree out of without breaking the pot. I've never added other plants to my JM pots, but I don't see why not - hostas, azaleas, perennials/annuals, etc, would probably look very nice. Just be sure to pick something that likes the same light, soil, and moisture conditions as the maple, but I'm sure you've thought of that. You'll have to play around somewhat with soil mix, as it varies greatly by climate what is and isn't suitable, but with our very hot, somewhat humid and windy summers, this is what works for me: My base is Fox Farm Coco Loco (a coco coir-based potting soil with perlite; coco coir is very moisture-retentive, so it works well for me). To this I add equal parts of turface (chicken grit or haydite works well too), pine bark mulch (the mulch, not the nuggets), and/or Hapi Gro (a composted bark product). This gives me a rather chunky mix that both retains moisture well (so I'm not watering 2-3 times a day when it's 100+ out) and also has good aeration and drainage. As you are in VA, you may not need quite the moisture retention that I do, so a potting soil like Happy Frog or Ocean Forest (both Fox Farm products) that are peat-based might work well, and you could potentially up the ratio of grit in your mix. Hope this helps!
1. Big pot should be fine as long as drainage is adequate. 2. Avoid planting anything heavy feeding or thirsty with the maple, but small annuals or perrenials would be fine. An idea I like, but never seem to get around to actually doing, is to plant small spring flowering bulbs such as Crocus, Scilla, Iris reticulata, Winter Aconite in the container with the maple to supply some interest before the maple leafs out. 3. Ask a hundred different maple growers and you will probably get a hundred different mixes for container growing. My preference is not to have something so free draining that I have to water every day, but as you rightly say the drainage is very important. Standard potting mixes need to be amended to make them drain better, perlite, gravel and small chipped bark are what I amend mine with. I will leave it to someone who lives on your continent for more spefic suggestions for a maple container mix. P.S. maplesandpaw's post wasn't there when i wrote mine, and I wanted to add that like her I normally just go to the next sensible size up when repotting, not from small to huge, but I know other people have success in planting straight into very large containers. If the mix in the container is good enough and drains well enough, there shouldn't be any problems.
Thanks for the responses. The tree is currently in the small plastic pot that it came in (1/2 gallon i'm pretty sure) so the first pot would probably be good at 3g. We could always get a stand to put the pot on if the arrangement needs to be smaller. I also really like the idea of the ups-a-daisy so we can use a bigger pot. I also thought of a pot within a pot (put the tree in a 3 gallon pot and bury that pot in a 10 gallon pot with some other stuff planted inside. I can play around with some ideas now that I have an idea of what is necessary for a health tree. I love this little guy and definitely don't want to snuff him out! :)
Somewhere on one of the forums there was a comment about putting a maple in a pot. Something about making the maple feel like it's on on an expensive spa vacation while it's in a pot, not roughing it on a survival camping trip. That always stuck with me. I grow a lot of mine in pots and use pots to pull one out of the ground if it isn't doing well or just to let it develop a solid root system before putting it in the ground. As long as the soil is good, as mentioned above, the maple should love it. If you are worried about pot size and drainage, you could always add a layer of rock at the bottom. The rock is also nice in case you have a 20 mph wind to keep the pot upright. I always add other plants to mine. It adds interest and I often have other types of plants that need that spa vacation, too, for whatever reason. I usually use equal parts of pine bark mulch and a quality compost and have never had a problem. I also use many types and sizes of pots. Will attach some pics. They stay in my cold storage room in winter, no lights.
Your maple should always be in a pot that is only slightly larger than the rootball (as per MawsandPaws) or you have a danger of overwatering and drowning the plant as the roots haven't use up the moisture and you then re water thinking it must be too dry. A pot within a pot is the best idea if you want to use a very large container, and in this case you can plant the other little plants around the edge and in basically a different soil :) This would also help with a layer of rock in the bottom for weight as suggested (as per Kaydye) Every time you repot only use the next size up unless you root prune and refresh the soil Hope it goes well with you
Interesting thread, I mean at least to me: almost all my maples are potted. Very sound advice about the size of the pot in relation to the rootball. In my soil mix, I always add about 30% volcanic rock - pozzolane and/or pumice, and composted pine bark: I'm lucky enough to live near a wholesale substrate business for horticulturists, and as a member of a local bonsai club, I can get very good soil media half the price you would buy them in a garden center. As for other plants in the pot, I usually don't add any, and if I do I make sure that it's not a plant with invasive roots: they would compact the medium and take some of the nutrients. But here is a photo of a cutting with Mentha corsica that sowed itself in the pot, a rather rare mint with minute leaves that doesn't have big tracing roots like most mints. In any case I would personally remove the other plants each year and make sure their roots don't "circle" the pot before putting them back into the pot.
Got it planted tonight. I'll take some pics tomorrow. Ended up using the pot within a pot method. Thanks for all of the input.
Here is the finished product. Mikawa Yatsubusa 3x ivy to grow over the edge of the pot 1 Christmas Fern 1 Mouse Ear Hosta I really like how it looks.
You did the right thing .. that pot is beautiful but too large for the tree at this time. It is a very healthy looking tree and I hope it grows well for you. Be very careful with that ivy though :)
Thanks Whis4ey. Diana at TG has a good reputation for nice trees and she lived up to expectations on my first order. Already working on another purchase with her.
bub72ck, what all did you get from Diana? She's my first stop when looking for a tree, always great to work with; I would say at least half if not more of my trees have come from her and I've never been disappointed.
This Mikawa is my only tree from her this far. It was so nice that I'm going back to her again for something new. I sent her a list of my collection and she made some suggestions. Still not sure what I want from the list. I have some local places that have good deals on larger trees but they are the more common types. I'll go to Diana for my specialty purchases (like the MY).
