Hi, I'm new to this forum and seeking advice from people with experience... I purchased a fairly mature Ukigumo tree yesterday, deeply discounted because it's so late in the season, and I'm trying to figure out the best place to put it. It's a beautiful tree and I don't want to hurt it -- we have it temporarily placed on a bank in full sun, but there is a (recently planted) sunset maple sapling 15 away on one side, and a small pine tree 15 feet on the other side, that's lible to take off and get big over time (we lost a HUGE gum tree earlier this year and there were a lot of scrubby trees underneath, just now getting real light... If we plant the tree where we're thinking of planting it, over time the trees to the left and right of it should grow big and give it some cover, but for now, it's in the open. There are huge, mature trees 30 and 40 feet away from it, but nothing close to create shade at present... Is this a bad strategy on our parts do you think? Should it be planted in semi- shade? The woman at the nursery said the tree was at least 10 years old... I would appreciate any advice, Many thanks, Dabney
Mine had big trees near it and only got a short blast of midday sun and got very scorched. My take: don't do it.
This tree may take morning sun, but is best off in dappled light. As with many other variegated JM's, it does not doo well in full sun, burns in afternoon sun, and the leaves become more cream/white when out of direct sunlight. I've got this with Butterfly, Peaches&Cream, Shigatsu Sawa, Toyama Nishiki, and the various ghost cultivars. Generally, you buy Ukigumo for its form and leaves, both of which are more pronounced in less light. So find a place where it can show off its beauty, and don't try to force it into a place God didn't intend it to be.
