How to Care for Japanese Maples

Caring for Japanese maples is surprisingly easy, whether in the ground or in containers and growing them is simple and straightforward. Numerous examples in cultivation are now well over a century old and still as vigorous as when they were first planted.

Much has been written on what their alleged needs are but most information is not based on an understanding of how they grow in the wild. Looking at the natural environment in which a plant grows will give you all the clues on how to care for it and this applies to all plants, not just Japanese maples. No distinction need be made between caring for a red Japanese maple, a dwarf Japanese maple or any other type; they are all varieties of one species; Acer palmatum and as such they all have the same care requirements. 

Providing they have a balanced and natural growing medium, which, incidentally, includes a complete indifference to either an acid or an alkaline soil, their fertilizer needs are minimal and have only modest, and consistent water requirements that are easily achieved. Get the watering regime wrong and you are guaranteed to damage your Japanese maple and in extreme cases, even kill it! In most situations the best course of action is never water at all.

Major pruning can be undertaken without any worry of damage and trimming during the growing season can also be helpful in controlling shape and size. Japanese maples respond well to pruning at the correct time of year and in many instances pruning is essential to control the long-term shape and size. Some varieties, if pruning is not carried out at an early age, will take many years to develop their true shape and can be a source of disappointment when they are young.

Transplanting, even of older trees, can successfully be done at the right time of year with the correct planning and where they have become too large for the position they're in, can mean the difference between saving it or destroying it. Moving from container growing to open ground cultivation is a simple task that requires no excessive preparation and when done at the correct time of year will result in rapid establishment of a transplanted Japanese maple.

Pests are mostly absent from a healthy, vigorous Japanese maple and this applies equally to fungal infections. A drying up, dying or dead tree, particularly if it happens shortly after you've bought it, is rarely the fault of the gardener as symptoms don't happen overnight, but with the correct advice and care most can be brought back to health. Symptoms of ill health are a direct consequence of the lack of the correct care that is given to your Japanese maple and understanding the relationship of cause and effect will eliminate all of the problems the gardener can encounter.