How to Look After a Japanese Maple Tree
Japanese maple trees are known for the beautiful and distinctive coloring of their leaves – you can find these trees with green, yellow, red, and purple leaves, with the leaves often changing color throughout the year. Japanese maples are also great trees for smaller gardens due to their small size and slow growth. They can even thrive in shady spots.
If you’re interested in planting a Japanese maple tree in your garden, then you can buy a dwarf Japanese maple from The Tree Center. Here’s how you should look after it.
Planting
With a Japanese maple, you can either plant it in the ground or keep it in a plant pot. This type of tree can grow well in a pot.
If you want to plant your Japanese maple tree, you should do this in autumn or winter. Select a shady spot that’s sheltered from the wind – too much sunlight can scorch the leaves, and these trees don’t grow well in windy conditions. You should also select a non-crowded spot as these trees don’t like competing with others for root space.
If you want to keep your Japanese maple tree in a pot, then you just have to repot it every couple of years into a larger pot to not restrict its growth.
Watering
Particularly in its first year, you should water your Japanese maple tree regularly to prevent it from drying out. After this, you should water your tree once a week during hot, dry weather, and if your tree is in a pot, you may have to water it every day in these weather conditions. This will stop the leaves from turning brown and crinkly. Overall, the soil in the pot should remain moist, but not too wet.
Mulching
Mulching, which is the process of spreading a layer of mulch (e.g., wood chips, compost) on top of the soil around a plant, will help the soil retain more water and nutrients, and this will aid the growth of your tree. You should surround your tree with a layer of mulch once a year in the springtime to prevent it from drying out during the summer months.
If your tree is in a pot, you can feed it in the spring with a slow-release fertilizer to help it grow and thrive.
Pruning
Japanese maple trees don’t need much pruning, making them a low-maintenance tree option for those who don’t like to spend too much time gardening. To prevent your tree from bleeding sap after pruning, you should always prune it in the winter when it’s dormant. Remove any dead branches and vertical shoots, but otherwise, you can let the tree retain its natural shape.
Japanese maple trees can be a perfect decoration for any garden, whether you want to plant them or keep them in pots around your patio. These trees are also fantastic for smaller, shady gardens due to their small size and preference for less sunny spots. If you’re thinking of buying a Japanese maple, just make sure you follow the instructions listed above to take care of your new tree.
