Acer palmatum
Japanese maple
- Position: partial shade
- Soil: fertile, moist, well-drained neutral to acid soil
- Rate of growth: slow-growing
- Flowering period: April to May
- Other features: red winged fruit in late summer
- Hardiness: fully hardy
The beautiful, deciduous foliage of this small, round-headed tree is attractively lobed and turns from its usual mid green in autumn to take on shades on yellow, orange and red before it falls. In late spring tiny purple-red flowers are borne in small pendulous clusters and are followed in late summer by charming winged fruits, which float down from the branches when they are ripe. - Garden care: Add a top dressing of a multi-purpose fertiliser around the base of the plant in late spring. No routine pruning is required, just remove any dead, damaged or crossing branches in late autumn or winter when they are fully dormant.
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In the last few warm days my poor little acers leaves have shrivelled. they are in shade from the early morning sun but catch it from mid day on. Not sure if this means I have lost them. Any help on what to do next . I have a very new garden and planted these two plants last year.
Many thanks Lyn fiskAsked on 5/9/2013 by fiskie from Bridgend Sth Wales1 answer
A:
Hi there
There could be a number of reasons why the leaves on your Acers are shrivelling. They might have been caught by a late frost in which case I doubt you have lost the plants.
Japanese maples are best grown in a sheltered position as they are prone to leaf scorch from either the wind or from being in a very sunny position. If you think they are in an exposed situation it might be best to move them to a more sheltered part of the garden.
Hope this helpsAnswered on 5/9/2013 by Georgina from Crocus
Q:
Problems with my Passionfruit clmber after cutting back, and an Acer that I moved?
Hi Crocus I've recently had my garden designed and am very pleased with the results, (plus many good Crocus plants). Unfortunately, my gardener had to cut back my Passionfruit climber which is about 7 years old. Whilst the other climbers (Honeysuckle / Jasmine) are starting to bud and grow back the Passionflower doesn't seem to be, - is there anything I can do to encourage growth? Also I have an Acer, (about 5 years old), which was frazzled by the sun last summer when I moved it from it's semi-shaded pot, into the ground in more sun. Now there are only a couple of buds that are appearing on the ends of some of the old stems, - should I cut back the ones that don't appear to be shooting, or again is there something I can do to encourage growth? Thanks VickieAsked on 4/12/2010 by Vickie Kirk1 answer
A:
Hello Vickie, Passionfruits often don't recover from being cut back really hard, but the only thing you can do now is wait and see if it rallies around. I would be reluctant to feed it or try to push it, but do make sure it is watered when the soil gets reasonably dry. If however there are still no signs of growth by early June, then I doubt it will come good, so it may need to be replaced. As for the Acer, I would be patient and see if it does start the shoot from the other branches, but again by early June you will be able to see clearly if certain stems are dead and if they need to be cut out. Same rules apply here as to feeding and watering. I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 4/12/2010 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Tree for screening, and a white rose.....
Dear Crocus, Please could you advise me? I would like to plant a tree (or other) to screen out the neighbours house. My concern is to find a tree which can be planted near to our house without causing any problems to the building or the patio area. To the side of our house we have a paved path, about 0.5m wide and about 1m of lawn up to the fence. There is sun in the morning and again after about 2pm. I am also looking to find a white rose, long flowering and easy to maintain to reach about 1m high. Sunny position. Our soil is a bit chalky. Hope you can make some suggestions so that I can put my order in online. With thanks, MariaAsked on 2/22/2010 by M Dixon1 answer
A:
Hello Maria, Ideally you should aim to plant a tree at least as far away from the house as its eventual height, so if a tree grows to 5m tall at maturity, you should plant it 5m away from your home. This rule however is made to be broken, however you should keep in mind that all large plants have the potential to lift patios or cause damage to unstable walls if the soil is very heavy or the plants get large. Therefore you need to decide if the need for privacy is greater than the risk. If you do decide to go ahead, I would opt for any of the following as they don't tend to become problematic. Acer palmatum cultivars http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.acer-palmatum/ or Pyrus salicifolia Pendula http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/trees/other-trees/deciduous/small-garden-trees/ok-for-small-gardens/pyrus-salicifolia-pendula/classid.4672/ As for the rose, Polar Star is great http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/roses/hybrid-tea-roses/bush-rose/modern-hybrid-t-&-floribunda/rosa-polar-star-=-tanlarpost-pbr/classid.1242/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 2/22/2010 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Specimen Ceanothus or another large bushy shrub....
Good afternoon, When I was first looking for a Ceanothus to replace the one we have in our front garden, I looked on your website, but you only had small ones. Our once lovely Ceanothus has been pruned out of all recognition again this year, as I planted it a bit too near our boundary when it was a baby. I know it may come back, but it is getting ridiculous as every time it grows back it has to be cut back again severely and then ooks a mess for most of the year. Have you got a nice, tall, bushy Ceanothus to replace it? I love my Ceanothus but perhaps if you don't have a big one, do you have another large, flowering shrub as an alternative? Hope you can help Regards MargaretAsked on 12/5/2009 by D DRAKETT1 answer
A:
Hello Margaret, it is rare to find larger sized Ceanothus as they are usually quite short-lived and don't normally live longer than 6 - 8 years. We do have a selection of larger shrubs on our site like Hamamelis, Hydrangeas, Magnolias, Acer, Cornus, Cotinus, Philadelphus, Syringa and Viburnum, so you may find something of interest. They will be listed in this section. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 12/8/2009 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Acers for a south-facing garden, or another small tree?
Hello, We live in a mid-terrace house and our garden is south facing. We're looking to get small trees that could live happily in pots and really like Acers. We like them because of the wondeful autumn foliage, but the indication that I seem to be getting from looking at your website is that Acers don't like south-facing, full-sun gardens. What could we do if we wanted Acers, or what would you recommend instead? We're looking for a smallish tree, with nice, colorful foliage. Cheers and regards, RichardAsked on 11/20/2009 by Richard Cote1 answer
A:
Hello Richard, If you want to grow Acer palmatums then you will need to provide some light shade for them during the hottest part of the day - often you can plant them closer to a wall or fence which will offer some protection. Alternatively you can click on the following link to go to all our small trees, which will flourish in a south facing aspect. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/trees/plcid.7/vid.37/vid.187/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 11/20/2009 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Will an Acer, Weeping Willlow and Beech grow in clay soil?
Hello, Will a Japanese Maple, Weeping Willow and a Copper Beech do well in deeply clay soil ? Thank youAsked on 10/15/2009 by Wendy Hall1 answer
A:
Hello There, As long as the soil does not remain waterlogged for any length of time and you can dig in lots of sharp sand and composted organic matter, these plants should be fine. The willow will olerate a little more moisture than the other two. I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 10/16/2009 by Wendy Hall
Q:
Fungus and dry leaves on Acer?
Hi there, I have noticed in the last week that one of my Acers has developed very dry yellowed leaves and a white soft fungus on its bark, what do you think this could be? My other Acers are fine, but I'm worried that this will spread. What can I do to remove/avoid this? Kind regardsAsked on 9/14/2009 by nikki craig1 answer
A:
Hello There, Acers are prone to a number of pests and diseases, but I suspect yours is suffering from a wooly scale - just click on the following link for more information. http://www.crocus.co.uk/pestsanddiseases/_/pests-and-diseases/stems/artcat.6/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 9/23/2009 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Acer trouble!
My Acer isn't doing well. It was purchased in April and took a while to get established once we planted it in it's current large container. It was looking quite robust until this past month, when it's began to look dry and dead in parts. We have removed it from a rather windy position and placed it in a sheltered area on our roof terrace, and continue to water it regularly. Any advice would be very appreciated. Many thanks ColinAsked on 7/29/2009 by Smith, Colin1 answer
A:
Hello Colin, Acers have incredibly delicate leaves and I suspect yours has been scorched somehow. This can be caused by a number of things including not enough water, too much sun, temperatures that are either too hot or too cold, chemicals such as weed killers that have drifted in the wind and too much fertilizer. The most likely cause however is wind, as these plants especially dislike this and it always causes the leaves to discolour and die off. They are not ideally suited to roof terraces because of this, so I would move it to a much more sheltered spot if you can. I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 1/1/0001 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Japanese Maple
I have tried twice unsuccessfully to try and grow Acers. I love them, but they don't seem to survive in the pots. I am using ericaceous soil, i hope that is correct. It was in a partially shaded area, but for some reason they doesn't survive. Help, I want one in my garden and when I see those in the street who have well grown, old maples that look beautiful, I'm afraid I am filled with envy as I can't seem to grow one in my garden. Advice please Desperate Acer loverAsked on 7/19/2009 by Shahla Samad1 answer
A:
Hello There, Acers will grow in either neutral or acidic soil, and most will tolerate sun or light shade, especially through the hottest part of the day. The most important thing though is that they must have shelter from wind and they need to be kept well watered, but not waterlogged. Make sure the pot they are kept in is reasonably large and doesnt dry out to quickly, but the drainage holes allow all the excess water to drain away freely. I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 7/20/2009 by Crocus Helpdesk
Q:
Query about Acer palmatum leaves
Hello, we purchased an Acer palmatum var. dissectum last year. A number of leaves have gone brown at the tips, and a few have gone totally brown and curled up. There are some new branches that have grown that don't seem to be affected. Early in spring I noticed a lot of aphids and sprayed with an insecticide for treating plants and trees. Could this have affected the leaves? Regards, SylviaAsked on 6/21/2009 by Anonymous1 answer
A:
Hello Sylvia, Acers have incredibly delicate leaves and I suspect yours has been scorched somehow. This can be caused by a number of things including not enough water, too much sun, temperatures that are either too hot or too cold, chemicals such as weed killers that have drifted in the wind (or applied at the wrong strength) and too much fertilizer. The most likely cause however is wind, as these plants especially dislike this and it always causes the leaves to discolour and die off. I hope this helps. Helen Plant DoctorAnswered on 6/22/2009 by Crocus Helpdesk
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