Is it normal to get new growth on jms this late in the season? Most of my trees are less than 2 years in the ground. They didn't get any new growth this year other than the initial spring growth but now so close to fall I'm getting new growth on a few of them. Is there any chance this growth has enough time to harden off or will it likely all die back? I'm in zone 5. Thanks for any info.
For me it depends on the plant, but then again I'm in zone 7/8. On large stemmed plants (e.g. Fior d''Arancio or most A. japonicums) it would be OK, but on thin stems like Sango kaku it would certainly die back. It will depend on how much time it has to ripen also, if you have a warm and sunny fall without an early winter, it may all be OK. Normally you will get better ripening in your climate than I do. Let's hope so! ;)
Maples can be so messed up coming out of grow tunnels and different climate zones; do not be surprised to see this. After a couple of years expect to see them better adjusted to local growing conditions. Maybe some maples will always put the growth out at the wrong time for your climate, but there will be others that "get" your climate from the start.
In this part of southern France (zone 8), with the summer drought, many maples went into a dormant, survival mode. Now, with cooler temps and some rain, there is a lot new growth in many but not in all maples. This behavior is still more marked in places like Houston where they actually lose their leaves during the summer dormant period to sprout new growth again late September. Gomero
