Hi everyone, I am a novice when it comes to JM as this is my first purchase. However, as they are slow growers I decided to pay that little bit extra and purchased a fairly mature plant....Needless to say I was very dissapointed, the tree has only 3 branches leading off from the main trunk and they resemble mop heads with very little growth at the bottom..does this sound right please? Your suggestions and advice would be gratefully accepted if there is anything I should do this winter to improve its appearance. Many thanks in advance for taking the time to reply.
I take it this was a mail-order purchase? Could you post a picture of your tree? SK has delicate limbs and is subject to wind burn. It could have had problems warlier in the season that caused it to lose leaves. Its hard to judge a tree just coming from a nursery, as many times they have been crowded or over fertilized. A picture really helps us help you. Speaking of pictures - I recently saw a picture of a SK in Japan that was 30 feet tall and 700 years old! It was amazing!
Something to bear in mind, though, is that many trees don't look so great in their first season from the nursery. As long as it's healthy, with no obvious diseases or growth problems or deformities, it should start to assume a more graceful and stately appearance next season. If you've got a good hand with plants in general, just make sure its basic needs are attended to, and let it settle naturally into its new home.
Big thanks to both Kaspian and Katain for your advice, really appreciated. Unfortunately I havent a photo at the moment but yes you are correct this was a mail order purchase. I suppose I wasn't sure what to expect but as Katain explained I will see what happens next year. I do have a long delicate branch growing from the bottom of the tree which looks completely out of place. Could I prune this in November to enhance its appeaance or should I leave this also and see what next season brings.
Take a close look at that low branch - it could be a sucker coming up from the rootsock. Nearly all named Japanese Maples are grafted onto a generic maple plant. This ensures that the variety you buy is true to name, and the rootstock tends to have more vigorous roots than the fancy varieties. Look for a grafting scar on the trunk, which will have a different color or even a different thickness than the trunk above it. If this limb is coming from below the graft line, it should be completely removed or it will weaken the rest of the tree. Regards,
ha - that made me laugh. I have been singin the praises of how vigorous my omureyama has been, but sheepishly found today that good branch of it was rootstock. Still quite happy with its progress but it's getting a little haircut.
