Gardening
Japanese maples give glorious color
Keith C. Hansen Smith County Horticulturist

What started out as a slow fall as far as foliage color is concerned, has turned out to be quite glorious.

Trees of all kinds are displaying a show of yellows, reds, oranges, and purples in all shades and hues. One of my favorite groups of trees for fall color is the Japanese maples.

East Texas has great conditions for growing these Asian beauties – much more favorable than the rest of the state. Our normally sufficient rainfall, acidic soils, and definite four seasons combine to provide great conditions for growing one of the most exotic groups of ornamental trees.

The term Japanese maple refers to a very large group of plants belonging mainly to Acer palmatum and Acer japonicum, although there are other species with similar characteristics.

These have been bred and selected for hundreds of years in Japan, and selections from the USA and Europe are also available.

They tend to easily mutate, and observant gardeners have been selecting and propagating these new forms for centuries. Hundreds of named varieties are in existence, though usually only a handful at best will be available through a local nursery outlet.

However, there are specialty mail order nurseries that carry an extensive inventory of the less common types for the maple connoisseur and bonsai enthusiast.

Japanese maples are popular for their architectural form, and their lacy and delicate foliage, along with dramatic foliage colors both in spring and fall, thus making them excellent choices landscape accents and as specimen plants.

One of the more popular forms of Japanese maples are the dissectum, or lace-leaf varieties with deeply divided and dissected leaves.

These typically grow less than 15 feet tall, and have weeping and/or twisted branching, resulting in very picturesque plants, especially after the leaves have fallen.

The upright forms can grow taller, but rarely get over 30 feet tall.

Then there are the dwarf types that are better considered as shrubs, and although not tall, the need room to spread horizontally.

Patience pays off after a few years with a plant that only gets better with age.

Seedlings tend to be more vigorous and tolerant of adverse conditions.

Japanese maples do best, in general, in partial sun, preferably with an eastern sunny exposure to promote leaf coloration, with protection from the western sun.

Avoid full sun and sites with reflected heat.

When grown in mostly shaded sites, they will not have as intense fall coloration. Greenfoliaged varieties tolerate almost full sun, but variegated varieties need more shade.

Maples must have good drainage. If soil is poorly drained, it should be amended with compost, aged bark, or other organic material.

This will insure that the crown of the tree will not be in soggy soil. The crown should never be below grade.

Frequent, regular watering will get your maple off to a good start. Maples do well with regular watering and an occasional deep watering during dry times.

The University of California did a study indicating frequent watering in the first year of transplant is the most effective thing to increase chances of success in new landscape plantings.

Maples are not deep-rooted trees.

Alayer of mulch 3 or so inches deep of bark or shredded leaves over the soil helps keep the soil temperature moderated and conserve moisture.

Pull the mulch away from the trunk slightly to prevent crown rot and insect damage.

First and second year trees frequently show scorching on the leaf margins, especially the dissectum types.

Usually the more exposed they are to the sun, the more marginal burning will be seen. This is not unusual and should cease once the plant is well-established.

Young trees planted in sunny exposures should have their trunks wrapped the first couple of years with tree wrap. This may also help deter squirrels from stripping bark.

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Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with Texas Cooperative Extension. His web page is http://EastTexasGardening.tam u.edu.