Hi guys I bought a few japanese maple trees early this summer and only my sango kaku grows like crazy, it grows much faster than my BG, osakazuki and full moon. I attached a picture, the left is from Aug 12 and right is from Sep 18, is it normal for JM to grow in a rate like this? or should I prune to cut back the growth? thanks.
Thank you, I think I might over-fertilized the tree cause it came with some all purpose fertilizer already in the pot and I added some more. I heard over grown young tree can be harmful and I'd just want to make sure it can survive the winter.
Yea japanese maple need very little fertilizer. Fertilize in spring and don't over do it. Good luck Pat
Sometimes the trees surprise you. I picked up a small 1g Otome zakura a couple summers ago and up-potted it into a 2g when I got it; by fall, I had to move it up to a 3g since it had gained so much root mass. Didn't really do anything last year, but this year, I have 6 branches that have grown over 3 feet since the beginning of June - and not leggy growth either. My Matthew that I purchased this spring has also done the same thing (in a pot as well), as has my Murakumo and Shinju ( both in the ground). Most of my others have just sat there, with a little extra push here or there.
If the growth is very leggy and doesn't have a chance to ripen, you may want to shorten it; Sango kaku in particular tends to lose this growth if the winter or spring is very wet. Indeed Andrea I have many maples that need to be repotted in both spring and fall, they put on so much root growth. I have found mycorrhizae really helps the root growth. I guess 3 gallons is about 12 litres, already a pretty big pot; mostly after 12 litres I try to get a plant into the ground. My potting progression (usually) is 0.4l, 1l, 3l, 7.5l, 12l. If I have to keep going I do 18l, 35l. But that's a lot of substrate! ;) -E
