Hello, I live in zone 10, and am wondering if maples will do ok here. Soil is alkaline (I can amend that) but I am more concerned about the weather. I am looking for fall color for a little japanese garden I am building. thanks for your help Siddharth
Whereabouts in the San Diego area are you? Yes, you can grow Japanese Maples in your area but for you wanting to grow Maples for Fall color there then I would need to know when do your temps cool off, what those cool temps are and for how long are you less than 50°? You will need some help from people that know your area well that are also growing Maples near you to make decent decisions to see definite Fall coloration for any length of time where you are. How saline or alkaline is your soil as many Maple varieties do not like strong or frequent doses of Sulfur in their root systems at all if you are planning to use Gypsum as a soil amendment? Are you using a water softening agent for your drinking water, if so, do you plan to use that water for your plants?
Thanks for the response. I live in Scripps Ranch, about 12 miles inland as the crow flies. Temperatures start cooling off in late november. There are typically 10-15 days of frost. Late december, Jan and feb night temperatures are below 50. The soil is very alkaline, but I am willing to dig it up and amend it as necessary. I was planning to use gypsum. Is that not a good idea ? I do not have a water softener. are the salts in the water going to be a problem ? I guess I could install one if necessary. Are there particular varities of acer palmatum which will do better here ? thanks again Siddharth [
The only reason I mentioned the water softening question is because I lived in San Pedro for 13 years and most people were using a water softener due to the hard water there. The softening agent is a salt which would add to your alkalinity woes. Gypsum has to be leached well with a lot of water first and foremost to be effective. What I would not do is put any of the soil back in the hole prior to and after the planting of the Maple. I would use a potting soil instead with no fertilizer amendments to the potting soil. Mound the Maple high, meaning plant it high out of the ground and then cover the area with a forest humus. The purpose for mounding the plant high is that the roots will not be exposed to your alkaline salts in the soil for a while. You might get lucky and not need the Gypsum if you can make sure the soil medium where the plant is located is on the acid side. You will want to have a circular moat around the plant to hold the water but have the moat about 1 1/2' away from the base of the plants trunk for a 5 gallon sized plant. Have at least a 2 1/2' moat around a 15 gallon sized plant. In a rock garden set up with sprinklers or bubblers (more than one for each plant) running off a drip line then you will not need a moat to hold the water for you. The biggest problem in Maples with alkalinity problems is that the Maples leaves burn a lot. Generally it is the edges of the leaves that will burn and the first hot wind you get you will see the plant burn some. Well, with the potting soil and the humus you can cut down on the amount of times your Maples leaves should burn as some burning in the Summer will be something you cannot control much as we really get our leaf scorch here during the Summer months. Maples can handle 90-95 degree weather with little ill effects as long as you keep the plant out of the direction where the winds are coming from. For us it means do not let the plant be exposed to any Northwest winds and you should be okay. No need to fertilize the Maple as long as you are using a nursery grade forest humus, preferably bagged or in bulk with no nutrient amendments that has as contents either ground pine and/or ground fir bark only. Do you have a Nursery nearby that you can depend on to help you in your selection of Maples? You may want to buy some of your nurseries Monrovia plants for your selections. Okay, I can recommend Monrovia Maples and they owe me for this, just kidding, as they grow a good plant and I've recommended their Maples to others before, many times actually. Whatever you do, do not plant your Maples in a Western exposure unless it is protected. Eastern and Southern exposures out of the winds is best. Varieties to choose from: GARNET JAPANESE MAPLE EMPEROR Iâ„¢ JAPANESE MAPLE WATERFALL JAPANESE MAPLE OSHIO-BENI JAPANESE MAPLE CORAL BARK JAPANESE MAPLE EVER RED JAPANESE MAPLE SEIRYU JAPANESE MAPLE SHAINA JAPANESE MAPLE BURGUNDY LACE JAPANESE MAPLE BLOODGOOD JAPANESE MAPLE CRIMSON QUEEN JAPANESE MAPLE The above list came from Monrovia's web site. Do get a nice Seiryu as that one is dependable for Fall color. The Shaina is a dwarf and is cute. Of that group the Emperor1 and the Bloodgood get to be the largest Maples in size. Burgundy Lace and Oshio Beni would be the next largest for plants. All the above are worth having but do pick strong looking trees and buy them no smaller than in 5 gallons. 15 gallon sizes are pricey but for you unless you have plenty of money and you have reason to want to make an immediate impact go with the 5 gallons and baby them and get them used to your conditions. There may be other selections from other wholesale nursery growers for you to look at but do not buy cheap plants, pay the money and get plants that look healthy to you. I would suggest you buy them from a full service nursery just in case you lose one or more as if they perish within a year they can be replaced for free. You are somewhat limited in your choices but all the above are, for the most part, proven Maples all over. The Monrovia plants are just a quick suggestion and not meant to be the only wholesale grower of the Maples you may want to have but they may be the safest ones for you to buy.
http://www.monrovia.com Monrovia is headquartered in Azusa, California, just east of Los Angeles, and operates nurseries in Dayton, Oregon, Visalia, California, Springfield, Ohio, La Grange, N.C. and Cairo, Georgia. These wholesale nurseries, encompassing 4,724 acres, are not open to the public. Our plants are sent from our nurseries in refrigerated trucks to more than 5,000 fine garden centers nationwide. Click here to find the nearest retailer that sells Monrovia plants : http://www.monrovia.com/dealer.nsf/ZipDealers