I have a hardier variety of dwarf Japanese maple (green leaf- 2-3 feet tall planted last year) but can't remember the type. We had a harsh winter here and now, at the end of May there are no leaves. I was assuming it is dead but what is confusing is that the bark is very green for about the first foot of the tree. I snapped off the twig ends to check for life and I think there may be some green? further in. Is it possible that it will leaf out later? I am not sure how long to wait. Appreciate any advice.
if reserve buds are in life again they are green, remove one and see if the color is brown the maple is dead...cut ground level the trunk and good luck!
I have had this experience more than once, and the maples have bounced back after I gave them up for dead. In one case, the grafted part of the tree died, but the root stock budded back. Now, three years later, it is a vigourous tree - just not the same type that it was originally. I would give the tree until the fall to show signs of life. -Jim
Thanks so much for the reply...because we have more harsh winters in the Okanagan, I tend to lean away from Japanese Maples. I do have one against the house in a courtyard - I believe it is Inaba Shidare. So far so good- the maple in question is more out in the open and above a waterfall. I will leave it as you have suggested until the fall. Thanks
More and more, I'm starting to believe that many JM varieties are more winter-hardy than we generally think. Just a couple of days ago I spotted a fine mature specimen of (I'm pretty sure) 'Sango kaku' in a fully exposed spot in Camden, Maine -- which admittedly enjoys a fairly snug exposure, facing the ocean on the east, protected from the northern and western winds by a mountain. This is noteworthy because a Maple Society member from upstate New York (also in zone 5) posted in another thread that this variety had not done so well for him. (He listed several others that had sailed through New York winters just fine.) I may be setting myself up for heartbreak, but that's nothing new in the gardening game.
Try to go for a sheltered spot. Shelter from prevailing winds appears to be more important than anything with Japanese maples.
Hi Kaspian, There are a couple of other red-barked cultivars beyond Sango kaku. Notably Eddisbury appears to be a lot less delicate, and may in fact be hardier too. I'd certainly give this one a try in your situation before SK. The main difference with Eddisbury is a somewhat darker tone to the leaves, right from the first in spring. This gives the tree a more tern aspect. -E
