Hello everyone. Last year I planted an autumn moon and lions head maple. I trusted the tags at the nursery as far as sun and soil. We have heavy clay soil, and solid clay about 1 foot down. After seeing some recent posts, I'm wondering if they're in the right spot for sun, and whether I should amend the soil more (only added topsoil when planting). I'm in zone 5a, and they get full sun about 8-10 hours a day. Is that too much sun for my zone because I've seen conflicting advice on the web? As far as planting, I dug a hole twice the diameter of the root ball, maybe a little more, and left the top of the root ball about an inch or two above grade. I'm worried since I only used topsoil that it will just compress eventually and they'll be below grade. Should I replant and/or move to a less sunny location? Thanks!
Hi Hobbzz, JM do not do well in clay, they like a very open almost gritty soil. Imagine where they do well in the mountains in Japan. Lots of rain but very free draining. If you are going to keep maples then morning sun and afternoon shade in free draining soil is the best way forward every time. If you can give them some shade until the Autumn and then consider lifting and replanting then IMO that would be best. If planted in the same position then add a lot of grit to the planting holes together with a good quality grit compost. If you can plant something else to shade your maples that would also be a good ploy. Hope that's of help.
Thanks for the quick response! I could move them to the backyard if need be. If I amended the soil with something organic, wouldn't it just break down and compress over time? This is a point I just read about yesterday, and it seemed to make sense. Could I amend with perlite? So no JM's for full sun in my zone? Do you know of a good resource in reference to hardiness and sun tolerance? If I look at five websites either retail or just informative, I can get 5 different answers lol. Hard to know which to trust. Thanks!
Hi Hobbzz, yes ammend your soil, look to replicate a maples natural habitat as best you can. You can add organic matter that is always a good thing but you need to break down the clay as much as you can. I suffer the clay problem here in England. It's a constant battle and purchasing tons of horticultural grit. When I plant a new maple I dig the hole at least 3 times deeper than the pot then add 2 and a half times the pot depth with horticultural grit and a small amount of John Innes no3 compost. (It is a compost that has more nutrients and very course). Not sure of the equivalent in the US I'm afraid. As far as no Japanese maples for you, that is not the case as some are more sun tolerant than others. Sumner Gold is a good choice for sun. Perlite can be used as it aids aeration but it does hold moisture and that's not something you need in clay soil. Just to add, on the cheering ourselves up thread on UBC is 4 great photos today from wind -borne a US member. Take a look at the conditions of the ground. It shows so well where maples should be planted. He has replicated the correct conditions beautifully. Hope that's a bit more help.
Thanks I'll check it out. I'll look into the equivalent of the amendments you mentioned as well. Thanks for the help!
I think you should be good. JM do well in zone 5-8. I have 3 JM planted in the middle of the yard. Zero shade. Zone 10b. They suffered in the beginning. But are doing okay once established. I do add silica to my feeding regime however.
