Hi, I'd like to ask a few questions and some general advise regarding raising JM in these climates. I'm not in USA, but when I specifically ask about my location, I think that people can't give advise to me because they are unaware of our climate and/or mostly assume it is desert like. Therefore, I have researched and found locations in USA which has the closest climate to my location in terms of summer heat and general climate characteristics. The reason I am giving USA locations as an example is due to my assumption that Japanese Maples are raised most there in hotter climate areas which resemble mine. So, please if you have experience or knowledge, help me. I'm in USDA zone 9b (can be close to zone 9a as well) and as far as I know, our winters should be no problem for JM in terms of weather temperature, am I right? (Frost damage is quite unlikely, and my JM's go dormant for more than enough time.) I know that USDA zone and winter hardiness is not the only concern, and I believe that my main concern is heat and drought during summers. So, I have looked at 2 basic classifications to come up with the US cities that resemble mine the most in terms of climate: 1. Climate type: The climate type here is Mediterranean just like the places that I mentioned in the thread title. (am I right?) So, typically we have long, dry and hot summers and mild to cool, rainy winters. 2. As I have read that this climate type can vary in many different aspects for different locations, I have read about Köppen climate classification and found the above places in the USA, which are in the same classification as my city "Csa". So, in terms of summer hotness, my city resembles these cities. (My city is in the same classification as the US ones I wrote above, but still slightly hotter in summer months except for Sacramento. It is almost the same as Sacramento in terms of average hottest weather in summer. The only difference is, in Sacramento the nights seem much colder in summer) From what it seems, in terms of rainfall, my location has an advantage over all these locations. But I guess it is not really relevant in summer because although we get more in summer also, it is only slight and I believe it is very insignificant because what we experience here in summers is surely "drought" as well. Except the 3 months of hot summer though, I never really need to water my garden, as the rainfall always makes my soil moist enough until another rainfall. Actually, I believe that my soil type is another issue for raising JM (reddish heavy clay), but I did the best I could do about this. I have digged not only very wide holes, but also very deep (> 3.3 feet) and filled it with another soil type which is organically rich, and has good drainage (so that I am keeping the water as far away from the roots as possible). I'm also doing my best to ammend the general soil in my garden as well constantly. So my questions will not be about my soil type, as I believe there is nothing else that I can do. Anyway, before I make my post even longer, let me type my 2 general questions: 1. Do you recommend me to daily water my JM and keep their soil always moist or should I use a less frequent deep watering (like twice every week) and let the soil dry in between waterings. Not totally dry of course, but to the point that it is just not moist anymore. I have a drip irrigation system which I can use for slowly and deep watering. 2. I currently have 7 JM planted in the ground at the moment and all are in part shade. I have 6 more in pots which I am planning to plant in ground this autumn, after the trees go dormant. But 2 of the spots I am planning to plant receive full sun and I would like to plant a bloodgood and a fireglow in these locations. I know that these types are somewhat more resistant to full sun exposure than other cultivars, but can they resist the full sun here (which is similiar to the locations in the US that I have written)? I have posted the general looking of my JM's in late July here in this thread: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=280828#post280828 Although I see new growth in each plant that is in the ground, their general health is similiar to the pictures I have posted. They surely have some leafburns as well. They have been on the ground since 1 year (they also went through summer last year here, but they were in pots), and I am wondering if their general situation could be any better. I am truly in love with JM's and I am so desperate to grow them. So I am open to any general advise as well, so that they can be in even better situation next year in late July. Thanks in advance.
Re: Japanese Maples in Sacramento, LA inland or Medford Oregon inland? Just read this thread this morning. The pH of your soil, the pH of your water, the degree of how well the drainage of your soil is, the amount of organic matter in your soil and available nutrients in your soil can make or break how well your Japanese Maples will do in the ground for you. If you can grow Fireglow where you are and not see too much salt and wind leaf burn during the Summer, then you should be in pretty good shape for growing several palmatum type Maples where you are. The biggest limiting factor you will have is getting clean Maples to come in for you to grow on. Stick with the more reputable European growers (nurserymen) to buy your plants from. Well known and proven growers from the Netherlands, Italy, one in particular from France and the United Kingdom are your best bets to buy Maples mail order or perhaps retail from or by way of their nurseries for your location. Great, just read your other thread whereby you want to compare Apples with Oranges. I’ll reciprocate and and respond in that thread probably one time only. Jim
Thanks for your response Jim. You may well be right about me comparing apples with oranges because I am a bit confused and too obsessed to grow JM's here. JM's became a bit popular in cooler areas of my country but almost noone grows them near the area that I am living (so I can get no local advise) which is maybe a clue whether it can be done or not, but when reading about people growing these trees in similiar climates I become hopeful about it. Oh and believe me, if I could buy from reputable nurserymen abroad, I would buy many more and have a wide range of collection already. The problem is, my country have a weird import policy, so I am stuck with buying it here, though I always buy imported ones despite higher prices.
The advice about soil PH is important, as JMs like slightly acid soil. I have red clay soil like you describe and I have found that the only way to get JMs happy is to create raised beds for them. My beds are 12 to 24 inches high, and I bring in rich farm soil with lots of organic matter. Then I add in lots of ground pine bark and a small amount of sand. The JMs seem to love this soil, and it keeps them raised up off the red clay, which they do not like very much. I also keep them mulched well so their roots stay cool. I live in a colder climate (zone 6b) in the US, but we have very hot summers and always have a drought for a couple of months. I have a drip/mini-sprinkler irrigation system and water them thoroughly every 4 days. This has kept them happy all summer long, even when we had almost 2 months of 90 to 100 degree (F) temps. JMs do not like to get really dry, but they also don't like to be soggy. The biggest issue I have had with the hot weather is the hot winds. They burn the leaves on JMs quite easily, so wind protection is important. I also give my JMs quite a bit of shade, which is easy for me because I have lots of tall hardwood trees on my property. Hope you have success with your JMs!
Thanks K4. The normal PH of my native soil is 7, but I have applied sulphur this year and made it slightly acidic. Btw how high did you raise your beds?
My beds are raised an average of about 18". The first ones I did were about 12", and the ones I've done recently are all 24" to 36". If I could do them all over again I would probably make them 24" high. That seems to be high enough but not too high.
Here is an example of what I do here, where the climate is hot and the soil type is awful. Today, I have just created a new bed for my 2 new JM's. I have first dug the bed for about 1 feet deep, for planting flowers or other perennials around my JM's. Then, at the spots where I am planning to plant JM's, I have dug further down, and the total depth increased to about >3 feet. The diameter of the hole is also about >3 feet. I'm not sure if you can tell the size / depth by the photos, but I am attaching before and after photos. I have then added a good soil to the holes, mixed with humus, manure compost, peat moss etc... as well as river sand for better drainage. The soil is the best (and sadly most expensive) that I could find around here... Maybe, this requires more labor force, or a bit harder than raising the bed, but it seems to be working for me (for now). (I have JM's on the ground that have survived 1 year although planted a bit deep. I am planning to take them off the ground and replant them this late fall when they are dormant and make sure that the root flare is visible this time.) I'm also planning to plant these new JM's in late fall when they are dormant. I will add stone edging and more soil by then and raise the bed for about 6-7'' (I guess that the level of the soil that I just added will drop anyway). I'm not sure what I am doing here is the best alternative to plant the JM's here though. Maybe it is even overkill? Comments? P.S: All this work has been completed today by only me and I am a bit tired now LOL. The heavy clay is like a rock when you are trying to dig it!
