Well I'm not sure if this should be in the 'maple' forum but since this is the only forum I post in I figured I'd give it a shot... My wife and I bought our first house last year (Feb of 2004). We purchased the house from a retired couple who LOVED roses. I swear I pulled out at least 15 rose bushes when I moved in. They also loved annual flowers. The yard was full of them... One day I got fed up spending 4 hours every weekend pulling weeds in a yard I didn't care for. This is when my master plan was drawn up. Mind you, I'm only 27 years old and before I bought my house I could care less about plants (even maples). So I'm a bit proud of what I have transformed my yard into. The following pictures were taken before we moved into the house. The house had just gone into escrow and a few friends wanted some picture so I drove by and snapped a few. Here they are: **notice the two big shrubs. these are the only things in the yard I dind't pull up.
These next pictures show the aftermath of 6 yards of humus. I had a mountain of this stuff in my driveway for a few weeks. The neighbors didn't quite know what to think of me. I had only been in my house for about two or three months and I was already ripping out the yard... You can see the first maple (bloodgood) I purchased in the area by the front door. On the left side of my hosue you can also see my baby Coral Bark. It looked a bit plain but in my opinion 100 times better then before. And I didn't have anymore weeds like I did when it was just 'dirt'.
Now these pictures were taken today (March 2005). The major change that was made in the past year was adding the cobble stone around the edge of my planters (3 1/2 yards worth). This gives my yard a bit more character and a more 'finished' look. I dind't know what look I was aiming for but a friend of mine said it looks like a 'nice park setting'. I have also added a few more plants and trees. You can also see my Red Dragon in a few of the pictures. It's still potted but I should be putting it in the ground tomorrow. Most likey I will plant it where the pot is sitting now. You can also see my new Bloodgood on the right side of the house (by the garage). This was purchased at OSH and doesn't seem as 'nice' as my first Bloodgood. One the left side of my house I will be putting a 9 foot Weeping Juniper in the ground. It should cover my side gate pretty well. I got a STEAL of a DEAL on it too! It's in a 15gal container and it only set me back $100. I was at a nursery yesterday and they had the same plant for $90...except it only came up to my hip.
One more thing... Next Project: PAINT! I'm not a 'minty' kind of guy. My wife and I have pretty much agreed on a medium tan or toupe color with a white trim. It should look nice.
Hi, Great pics. Enjoyed seeing your changes and how you used your maples. Its nice to see how they are people have used them in there landscape. I, like you, havent been into trees and the yard til the couple of years. Friends are amazed at the guy whos last house had 1ft tall grass somtimes, LOL. I got my first maple about 2 years ago, and have grown to love them. My wife and i are slowly added them to the landscape. This spring i will be locating several out into the yard, so i will post some pics of them when i do. Mike
I like the cobbles, and for sure ditch the ditchwater green. I thought it was just a problem with my monitor. Your neighbors may be surprised or amazed with your flurry of gardening, but I can't imagine they'd be displeased. Ralph
Nice but...how big do you think that 'Bloodgood' is going to get. Maybe something like 'Shaina' would be appropriate for such a small garden recess. Additionally, 'Sango kaku' can become huge. Good thing that these maples transplant easily. I don't mean to rain on your parade, just some constructive criticism. I tend to look at a tree or shrub and consider it's size at maturity and place them in the landscape with that in mind. Nice yard...I'm jealous...lol
Landscpae Bonsai You planned your yard like I did in my first landscaping plan. It becomes a matter of desire for the plant or more plants than will fit in a given space. There is what you can manage and there is the plan for generations. Yours will require judicious pruning and thoughtful pruning at that. Brad is right...you certainly don't have room to let your trees go. The Bloodgood will require immediate attention as will the dissectum close to the house. You can let the Sango for for a few years, but it to will need shaping. I enjoy the pruning and what I have come to call my own form of dwarfing. What I would not do again, and recommend you not do is put that dissectum close to the house. The upright palmatums are not so hard to keep under control, but you are in for a battle with the dissectum and risk doing a pretty good hack job on it if you are not careful. I say go for the Bloodgood and Sango, but move the dissectum. MJH
Thanks for all of the comments! THe Bloodgood is actually in a 12'x12' square planter and is right in the middle of it. I don't think I will run into too much trouble there. The Coral Bark also has a bit of space to go...but not much. The big tree in my front yard may cause an issue but that's a long time away. The Red Dragon, from what I understand, is VERY slow growing. And right now the plant has two main shoots off of the main leader. It makes a "T" shape so I think it will be a little more easily to manage then the photo suggests. The planter is plenty wide but it's only 4 1/2 feet deep... We'll see how it goes. I have a few more pictures I can go through to see if it shows for detail and sizes of the planters.
'Bloodgood' may get 10m x 10m, that's about 33' x 33' and you have it planted in a 12' x 12' area...hmm...better keep those felcos ready. 'Sango kaku' may get 8m x 6m, or about 26' x 20'. In contrast 'Shaina' matures at about 3m or 10'. These mature sizes may take many years but I plant for the long term. I kind of liked the placement for the dissectum, although it may be a one sided plant. Ideally, it as well as the other Japanese Maples will be better placed where they can develop their true form. Also watch out for any damage from reflective heat an/or light from the walls.
Well that just goes to show that I have a lot to learn...I thought the Bloodgood only grew 10' wide by 20' tall. I guess that's what I get for not doing my homework. Thanks for the info Elmore, I do appriciate it. Now can I ask you a favor? If you look through the following thread I have pictures of three unknown maples and it's driving me nut to figure out what they are. Mind taking a look (or anyone for that matter)? The pics are towards the middle of the thread. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=6512
Hi Colby, You have done a beautiful job considering your experience level. You've already gotten help with the mature size of the trees you planted, so I'm not going to repeat that. There are a couple of things that I see as possible cause for concern and that is the base of the trees. I can't see the young ones you've planted, but the mature trees look like telephone poles at the base. Trees have a root flare that shouldn't be buried. Here's some helpful sites about tree roots and root flare. http://www.tlcfortrees.info/planting depth.htm http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/planting/nosoil.htm Some maples will get winding roots as they mature, especially if they were pot grown. http://www1.br.cc.va.us/murray/Arboriculture/TreeCare101/below/root_collar_exam/default.htm I also have some concerns about the weight of the stones on the roots. Do watch for stress on these trees. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG089 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/WO017 http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/Garden/02926.html How to mulch trees: http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/mulching.asp This site has some good info on Japanese maple care and pruning. http://www.mountainmaples.com/WS4D_Cookie=5.24.04_17,39,13_15/index.html Congratulations on your 'new' home. It's lovely. Newt
I applaud you guys thinking of mature sizes as my main gripe with today's landscapers is that so many of them do not take into consideration how tall a tree will get once it matures. Still, I'd rather see someone err on the side of enthusiasm rather than err too much on the side of caution or from being brain dead. Really, there are no real problems with this set up. Everything can be controlled with selective pruning and shaping. Many people here do indeed shape their Maples in a landscape unlike so many areas. Yes, it is better to incorporate a Maple in which we know what it should end up being for size but we tend to generalize a little too much in thinking that what was purchased as being a Bloodgood is in fact a Bloodgood and will attain such size as most Bloodgoods will. I could work in several Maples in this yard but in order for them to work Colby has to like the Maples. Let him learn what will work and what will not as it is his yard to deal with. With deep watering the stones is not even an issue as long as we do not have a compacted hard pan layer about 1 - 1 1/2' below the surface. With a hard pan layer deep rooted trees will hit the layer and then will not try to penetrate through it but will start sending out roots growing laterally. I ought to show you guys what happens with plants grown in a flood plain encarpment in which the top foot of soil was scraped off years ago and there is a 2' thick hard pan (clay pan) layer one foot below the surface. Even Crape Myrtles will hit the layer and then start shooting out roots laterally right at the soil surface. Japanese Maples will do the same thing. Another mistake we make is that we assume that one Maple such as Shaina is readily available here to which it is not. Then there are two forms of Shaina, one of which will only get up to about 4' tall after 20 years in the ground whereas the other form can get up to 12-15 feet tall but only a couple of people really know how long it will take to get to that height. Here we can assume earlier than most areas such as Oregon. If a Maple takes 20 years to get to a certain height in Eugene, we can probably get it up to the same height in 12-15 years. We get more sunlight and more growth cycles on a plant than Eugene gets. Even when people talk of Shindeshojo getting up to 6 feet tall in 6 years I wonder if we are talking about the same plant that I know, as here, no way will it get that tall that fast but Beni maiko can grow that fast in full sun. The true Japanese form of Shindeshojo will not get up to 6 feet tall here in 15 years grown in the ground. Even true form of Corallinum will not get up to 6 feet in 6 years, more likely 12 years. Guys, most Sango Kakus are not the real deal any more. Even Beni kawas that were thought to only get up to 4-6 feet tall in Oregon have misplaced the old Sango Kaku or are seedlings thereof or are another form such as Eddisbury. The true form of Sango Kaku will get up to about 12' tall and then stop any top growth and will fill in and grow wider, much like Oshio beni does here but once they get up to about 15-20 feet tall in comparison. The Oregon form of Shindeshojo can become rather willowy and seems taller than it really is. You are right Colby, this stuff takes a lot of homework and then we have to put in a lot of thought as I've always felt that to better understand Japanese Maples we have to think Maples. Book knowledge is so important so we can proceed to the next step of working with these plants hands on. It is through the hands on knowledge is where we truly develop an understanding basis of these plants. When you see some mature Weeping Junipers around and there will be some in Modesto you may want to be in good graces with your neighbor as your tree in time will grow into their yard. You are lucky though as in Fresno landscapers would put Coastal Redwoods (Aptos Blue and Soquel) right on the property lines so that the neighbors do not know which tree is theirs or is their neighbors. Honestly, as long as you can maintain your yard it does not matter what many of us will think as it is your yard, not ours but in light of some of the posts in this thread I would go with smaller, easier to maintain Maples and there are several around. The hard part is saying go get a nice Oregon Sunset or a Kiyohime and then we have to falter somewhat on where you can go to find one as it will be tough to locate a nice, select tree ready for immediate planting. Then, will the tree be what we assume it is when we buy it? When we get into specialty plants knowing the sourcing for the plant we want becomes immensely important otherwise we are on a hunt or in my case several times a mission to find one Maple that I want not knowing there are none around for me to find. Been there and done that with many plants in the past. I have not cruised around Modesto looking for plants in about 12 years so I cannot say that this nursery or that nursery will have a specific plant any more. Then, some of the nurseries I frequented may no longer be in business any more or have changed hands since. Don't worry about the Bloodgood if it is indeed the right plant. Bloodgoods here tend to grow up to 20' in 15 years and then they will stop growing. Burgundy Lace and Sherwood Flame will keep on growing but Bloodgood, Oshio beni, Oshu beni, Fireglow, Nuresagi, Red Emperor and Emperor 1 tend to get up to 15-20 feet tall in several years and then come to an abrupt halt and will just sit there in the ground and look pretty. From then on we do not have to tend much to the plant. If size and shape become a worry, simply prune the Maple to make it look nice. These are adaptable plants and will respond for us as long as they are well cared for and get adequate water. Most Japanese Maples here are self sustaining and will grow well most of the time in spite of us sometimes. The horror stories we hear are mostly attributed to Maples grown in containers in which when the whole truth of the fiasco may finally come out much later is when we learn that the homeowner did more harm to the plant than what was originally stated. Death by Verticillium usually comes about when the plant is young. Later on, if the plant dies it was generally due to us not paying enough attention to the plant. We will see the signs of trouble when the plant has stressed and just sat back and did nothing about it. The plant dies and then it is someone else's fault! By the way, I live 45 miles down the road from you. The misses is 105 miles down the road from you. Jim
Wow, thanks for the response, Jim. As always your insight and knowledge is very much appriciated! You had mentioned that you could think of a few maples and locations where you could incorporate them into my yard... would you mind giving me a few ideas? I would love to plant a Shindeshojo in front of my family room window (the 'big' window to the left of my garage) but I'm not quite sure there is enough room. The planter is rought 2 feet deep in that location. I also have 3 'unknown' maples that I am trying to identify. One of these three maples may also do the trick under my family room window...
Hi Colby: I will be away for a few days and will look at your Maples later but I cannot comment on them in an open forum. I get into enough trouble with Maples without stepping on nurseries toes also. As seen in the Seiryu thread when some of us are critical of what someone bought a Maple as being, it can lead to other problems that are out of our control when we are asked our feelings and those sentiments do not jive with the name of the label on the plant that was purchased. For me, personally, the ID ing of a Maple is a loser, no matter what I say or write. Some of these Maples I have more experience with the plant than anyone in these forums has. I've seen them here, in Oregon, at Mr. Vertrees nursery, in Japan, in Australia and in New Zealand and people still want to argue with me, when many times they have not ever seen the Maple anywhere. I brought in the first Red Dragon ever to come into California. I think I know what that Maple looks like. The great Esveld web site does show photos that are representative of that Maple. Where I will be there is no way I'll be able to open this thread with so many pics in it. My browser will have to be refreshed countless times and then I'll get frustrated until I get back here. Yes, you can work in a Shindeshojo in your front yard but where to get the Maple may be a problem as you may have to go to Sacramento to find it. Jim
Jim, The only reason I would like to ID the maples is so I know where I can plant them, if they will work in pot or on my patio, how big they will get, ect... And if you do take a peek at the maples, please feel free to PM the information to me. Just from reading through the forums these past few weeks I already value your views and opinions. The nursery in Escalon has a few Shindeshojo's for a good price that I may hop on. When you get back into town you should take a look at that place. If you take 99 towards Modesto, take 120 east into Escalon, turn right onto McHenry. They realy do have the best selection that I have seen in the modesto/Stockton area. As far as quality goes, I'd have to let you be the judge. And great job bringing the Red Dragon to CA! I love mine, and the wife didn't even give me the boot when she seen the price tag. She seems to like it too.
