Cheering ourselves up with Maples

Discussion in 'Maples' started by Acerholic, Mar 19, 2020.

  1. Lisa Harry

    Lisa Harry Contributor

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    Thanks I have seen larger orange dreams out in full sun and managing well but this 3’ tree is definitely struggling and I have no more shade to offer. I pray your right
     
  2. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Looks like Lisa and I are experiencing troubles with this sun again. But now I have a specific question.

    Today, one of the A. Palmatums, which is 6' tall and wide, got blown over by a very gentle breeze. I do have a cedar planter to put it in, but simply ran out of time and energy today to do the job.

    When I picked the tree up by the trunk, the plastic pot just fell right off, and the rootball weighed almost nothing, it was so dry. This baffles me somewhat, as I have watered it every other day thinking that would be enough. Apparently I have another think coming. Now, considering that the planter will hold roughly 4 times the soil in the plastic pot (it's small) should I keep to the watering regimen that Acerholic recommended, or maybe better yet check the state of the soil every day to see how it is doing.

    Incidentally, saw a short video this evening from Art's nursery showing a little gadget which lets you know how moist the soil is, Maybe I will get a few for the more questionable maples.

    And to make sure we don't slack off on the job tomorrow, it's going to get really hot! As of 9:56 p.m. this evening, it is still 29.7º outside, which is way too hot for this time of the evening.
     
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  3. Lisa Harry

    Lisa Harry Contributor

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    Hey @Keith Elliott I believe @Acerholic ’s recommendation is great for trees that are in healthy soil and established in their new environments. Acerholic no doubt has the same soil mix for all his maples and I believe they are on a very regular schedule, from what I can deduce from his messages. Last year I had 3 maples and this year I have a few more. Last year my red dragon was in a good size pot to grown in and its soil was perfect so I have not yet repotted it, that tree I could water on a schedule. My other two I had a “rescue tree” that was 6’ tall Acer Japonicum Aconitifolium and my waterfall maple. The Japonicum was extremely pot bound and in way too small of a pot, that one had to be checked daily and I slip potted it right away. It looked like it was in stress for a while and this year it is doing amazingly well. It is supposed to be root pruned this fall as I do not believe the roots have stretched out too far from the original root ball. The waterfall according to the nursery had been repotted just a couple months prior to my purchase so I didn’t remove it from its nursery pot, however it appears it grew very quickly and became very pot bound and this year it was doing ok but I felt it needed more care and now I hope it survives my efforts to literally love it to death. Having said that it was also on a different schedule for watering. I find the trees that come with really good soil and the right size pot do well with a schedule. The ones that are pot bound or in a soil mix that isn’t the best for it anymore tend to need to be checked and I have found this even for my evergreens. I have a new blue spruce that I can schedule but the Norway spruce must be watered very frequently - they are probably around the same age and in the same size pot but the soil for the Norway is not nice so it dries out very quickly. I typically poke with a finger or a chop stick and see if its moist enough to handle current weather for another 24 hours or until I can water again. I have found the same with a couple of my new maples some are in great soil and pot size and others need constant monitoring (typically less than a 3 gallon pot). I purchased a few from Arts like yourself and they get from so many different growers anything I get labelled from Iseli nursery always has great soil and I do not feel needs to repotted for a year possibly more. The ones I get from Eshraghi nurseries I feel tend to need to be either up potted once brought home or they are in far too large of a pot for its size. From Monrovia nursery depends on the plant but most need to be potted before season ends. All the trees I recently up potted I can schedule and they do not require nearly as much watering. Anyway that’s just my experience so far and I am no green thumb by any stretch so please listen to the others but I hope my experience helps in any way it can.
     
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  4. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Hi Lisa, the darker ghosts are more able to withstand the sun. So a Purple ghost is one of the best reticulates for this. Peaches and cream hates full sun btw. It does need quite a pit of protection. Sister Ghost is very much a full shade tree IMO. So if you can create some shade with a companion tree perhaps, then you will be fine getting this one.

    D
     
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  5. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good morning, well we certainly aren't experiencing the heat that others on the forum are, YET. So before we do I thought a few of my paler leafed maples would be a good idea for the thread today.
    Radiant 279.JPG Metamorphosa 280.JPG Reticulatum 280.JPG Elmwood 280.JPG Milligan 280.JPG Sawa Chidori 280.JPG Peve Multicolour 280.JPG Shishio Improved 280.JPG
    They are:- Radiant, Metamorphosa, Reticulatum, Elmwood, Milligan, Sawa Chidori, Peve Multicolour and Shishio Improved.

    Have a lovely weekend everybody.

    D
     
  6. Xi-feng

    Xi-feng Rising Contributor

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    I came inside this morning genuinely thinking I'd only taken 'a few' pics while I was out there.

    I am a fool.


    Autumn Moon, Kansai Akegarasu, Peaches & Cream, Japanese Sunrise:

    20210626 Autumn Moon.jpg 20210626 Kansai Akegarasu.jpg 20210626 P&C.jpg 20210626 Japanese Sunrise.jpg

    Little Princess, Kocho no Mai, Searles Variegated, Redwood:

    20210626 Little Princess.jpg 20210626 Kocho no Mai.jpg 20210626 Searle's Variegated.jpg 20210626 Redwood.jpg

    Saiho, Olsen's Frosted Strawberry (above) & Uncle Ghost (below), Amber Ghost, Aureum:

    20210626 Saiho.jpg 20210626 O.F. Strawberry, U. Ghost.jpg 20210626 Amber Ghost.jpg 20210626 Aureum.jpg

    Shirazz/GRD, Purple Ghost, Viridis, Inaba Shidare:

    20210626 Shirazz.jpg 20210626 Purple Ghost.jpg 20210626 Viridis.jpg 20210626 Inaba Shidare.jpg

    Fatsia Japonica & Suminagasi, group shot:

    20210626 Sumi Nagashi.jpg 20210626 Little trees.jpg
     
  7. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Not a fool at all Xi, just love your trees and want to share the love....
     
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  8. Xi-feng

    Xi-feng Rising Contributor

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    Haha, thanks D (though I think the two are not mutually exclusive...!)
     
  9. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Lol....
     
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  10. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Good morning Xi-feng. Surely you remember what "a couple" really is. So "a few" is about the same. Thank you for sharing your beautiful maples!
     
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  11. Xi-feng

    Xi-feng Rising Contributor

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    Oh Keith, one day I'll get the hang of these pesky definitions.... but today is not that day :) Thank you!
     
  12. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Hi everyone, I thought as this thread gets a lot of views I would copy this to it.
    I’m afraid it’s not good news :-(
    This is from a very well known and liked member of the maple forum community, who sadly needs to sell his collection.
    Last year I had a couple of trees from him and they were in excellent health and are doing really well in my garden. All of Lukes other trees will be just as good, as he looks after them so very well.

    Anyway, do have a look, as there might be something there to tempt you. If I had the room I would definatly be making an order.

    D
     
  13. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Hi everyone, I thought as this thread gets a lot of views I would copy this to it.
    I’m afraid it’s not good news :-(
    This is from a very well known and liked member of the maple forum community, who sadly needs to sell his collection.
    Last year I had a couple of trees from him and they were in excellent health and are doing really well in my garden. All of Lukes other trees will be just as good, as he looks after them so very well.

    Anyway, do have a look, as there might be something there to tempt you. If I had the room I would definatly be making an order.

    D
     
  14. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Good morning Lisa. Wow! Now there's a whole lot of information, thank you for taking the time to explain.

    I should look at the labels to see which nursery the maples came from, and perhaps that is a good start. That never even crossed my feeble mind before!

    I don't think that any of the maples are in pots larger than two gallons, so I will need to give serious consideration to upping the size somewhat. I might just make a series of planters in the 3 gallon size and up to see if that helps. I was trying to remember how big the containers were that I used on Ruxton, and to the best of my recollection nothing ever got left in any plastic pot, everything either went in a bigger cedar pot, or right into the ground. I don't ever remember losing a single tree down there, undoubtedly due to the highly favourable growing conditions.

    I was outside at 4 a.m. a little while ago, and it's apparent that I cannot leave anything on the south facing deck, even though it is under cover. It is simply too warm. That is only tomato plants at the moment, so they are going in to the carport for now.

    It looks like I will be busy today trying to save whatever I can. It looks like I picked a bad time to bring the maples up here, but who knew that it was going to get this hot so quickly?

    Given that we are still only in June and the real heat doesn't usually get here until August, I hesitate to think where we might end up this summer.
     
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  15. Lisa Harry

    Lisa Harry Contributor

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    The spot I have is big enough for two trees it gets the morning sun till about 10 or 11am then shade. So I have orange dream there which still appears to be failing. So you think sister ghost is more hardy than peaches and cream? I don’t need a full sun ability this spot is perfect for any maple it’s under my walnut tree.
     
  16. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Tbh Lisa they are both about the same in sun tolerance. This is the case with all the pale reticulates in my experience.
    My rule of thumb is that pale leafed varieties need more protection. Though there is always an exception, like Summer Gold for instance.
     
  17. Lisa Harry

    Lisa Harry Contributor

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    Oh I’ve wanted that one and can’t find it
     
  18. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    I would definatly reccomend it if you can find one. It tolerates full sun very well.

    D
     
  19. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good morning, some early morning photos before the rain comes. Four days of wet weather on the way according to forecasts.
    The second flush is now very apparent on some of my maples.
    Ruslyn in the pink 281.JPG Aconitifolium 281.JPG Mystic Jewel 281.JPG Beni otaki 281.JPG Shigitatsu sawa 281.JPG Momoiro koyasan 281.JPG Ueno yama 281.JPG Hessei 281.JPG
    They are :- Ruslyn in the pink, Aconitifolium, Mystic Jewel, Beni Otaki, Shigitatsu Sawa, Momoiro Koyasan, Ueno yama, and Hessei.

    D
     
  20. Xi-feng

    Xi-feng Rising Contributor

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    I am so impressed with Groupon at the moment. They have an offer for a Sango Kaku at a price which I thought was worth a punt (always a bit of a roulette buying like that; I've had some truly scabby plants in the past) and which promised a tree of 40-60cm in height, so I was half expecting a sad twig maybe with a leaf or two attached.

    This monster arrived last night:

    IMG_2145.jpg IMG_2150.jpg IMG_2149.jpg

    Absolutely stonking little tree (well, 'little' is the one thing it isn't. It's massive for the price, and very healthy for the most part. A little die-back at the tips of the branches but I can take care of that easily enough)

    IMG_2148.jpg IMG_2147.jpg

    Think I'll prune away the thin whippy bits at the bottom, and we're - touch wood - set for success. Super happy.

    IMG_2152.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  21. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good bargain Xi, and now years of lovely red branches against the bamboo fence. Very nice.

    D
     
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  22. D97x7

    D97x7 Contributor 10 Years

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    I'll try again, just put this in the wrong thread, oops.
    Morning everyone, the rain has already got here, brings out the colours though.
    Omure Yama
    IMG_20210627_090746.jpg
    Iijima Sunago
    IMG_20210627_090759.jpg
    Garnet
    IMG_20210627_090819.jpg
    Sawa Chidore
    IMG_20210627_090833.jpg
    Olsen's Frosted Strawberry
    IMG_20210627_090838.jpg
    Grandma Ghost
    IMG_20210627_090906.jpg
    First Ghost
    IMG_20210627_090914_1.jpg
    Black Lace
    IMG_20210627_090923.jpg
    Amber Ghost
    IMG_20210627_090937.jpg
     
  23. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    It sure does N. They are ALL looking wonderful. You must be very pleased.
     
  24. Xi-feng

    Xi-feng Rising Contributor

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    Thanks D - the bark colour is so much more vivid than my other Sango Kaku so hopefully it stays happy... especially in that spot, which is aesthetically such a nice place for a little tree but nothing I've tried there seems to like it. One Osakazuki died, my Moonrise got on with things but produced no colour at all, and my other Sango Kaku decided to make its leaves go crispy up top after a few days. I can't figure it out, because on paper it's the perfect spot for maples: morning sun, shade from 11:00 onwards, sheltered on three sides from wind and with my Koto-no-Ito providing protection on the fourth side. Fingers crossed this guy finds it more to its liking.

    I've said it before, but I cannot get over the colouring of your Olsen's - and your ghosts!! How many hours of sunlight are they getting?

    (Also if an Iijima Sunago makes its way into my - hopefully final - Hippo order of the year, it's completely your fault...!)
     
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  25. D97x7

    D97x7 Contributor 10 Years

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    They certainly put a smile on my face on a rather wet Sunday morning.
     
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