If you are growing Japanese maples in pots, keep in mind that potted plants lose one zone of hardiness because of the cold air circulating around the pot and the plant’s roots. Keep the potted Japanese maple outdoors, but in cold climates you can bury larger pots in the ground over winter if possible, or keep them in an area that is protected from cold, drying winds and cover the pot with leaves to provide more protection. Snow cover is especially helpful in preventing the root ball from becoming too cold. A tree that is in a pot that holds less than five gallons of soil may also be kept inside an unheated garage or shed, away from windows. A smaller pot will not provide enough protection from the cold to survive outdoors, but it must still be kept cold enough that the plant will go dormant and stay dormant until Spring.
Japanese maples that are in the ground should always be given a blanket of mulch over their roots. The mulch will help maintain moisture levels in the soil and help prevent the roots from becoming too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Make sure the mulch isn't piled up around the trunk where it would keep the bark too moist and encourage disease and insect problems. Keep the mulch a few inches deep over the root zone, but no closer than four inches from the trunk.
Because Japanese maples need to go dormant, they will have a hard time surviving in climates where the weather doesn't get cold enough for dormancy. They will also have difficulty growing in areas where the temperature drops below 10 degrees Fahrenheit for a length of time. However, some have had good success growing Japanese maples outside of the suggested growing zones of 5-9.
If you live in a zone 4 climate but you have an area in your yard that tends to stay a bit warmer than the rest of your property, you might have luck growing Japanese maples in that spot. If the plants in that corner of your yard tend to survive early frosts longer than plants elsewhere in your yard, it’s possible that a Japanese maple could survive there too. Alternately, if you have an unheated garage or shed, you could try growing Japanese maples in pots and bringing them indoors to the unheated building once they go dormant. Do not allow the plant to dry out completely over winter. Give it some water, but not too much, about once a month to keep it from desiccating.
Japanese maples that are in the ground should always be given a blanket of mulch over their roots. The mulch will help maintain moisture levels in the soil and help prevent the roots from becoming too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Make sure the mulch isn't piled up around the trunk where it would keep the bark too moist and encourage disease and insect problems. Keep the mulch a few inches deep over the root zone, but no closer than four inches from the trunk.
Because Japanese maples need to go dormant, they will have a hard time surviving in climates where the weather doesn't get cold enough for dormancy. They will also have difficulty growing in areas where the temperature drops below 10 degrees Fahrenheit for a length of time. However, some have had good success growing Japanese maples outside of the suggested growing zones of 5-9.
If you live in a zone 4 climate but you have an area in your yard that tends to stay a bit warmer than the rest of your property, you might have luck growing Japanese maples in that spot. If the plants in that corner of your yard tend to survive early frosts longer than plants elsewhere in your yard, it’s possible that a Japanese maple could survive there too. Alternately, if you have an unheated garage or shed, you could try growing Japanese maples in pots and bringing them indoors to the unheated building once they go dormant. Do not allow the plant to dry out completely over winter. Give it some water, but not too much, about once a month to keep it from desiccating.
One problem to be aware of if you are growing Japanese maples is spring weather that arrives too early, followed by an extended cold snap. If the weather turns warm too soon, causing the trees to leaf out early, there is the danger of the tree being damaged or even killed if freezing weather returns again. Warm spring weather causes the sap to flow up from the roots into the tree, and if this sap becomes frozen it can cause the trees’ bark to split, resulting in the demise of the tree.
We can’t do much to change the weather forecast, but if your tree has leafed out early and an extended spell of freezing weather is expected, you might try constructing a shelter around small Japanese maples to protect them from the cold, drying wind. As added protection, keep an incandescent light bulb burning inside the shelter to maintain a higher temperature for the tree. This attempt to prevent damage to the tree would be worth the extra effort.
Whether you are growing just one Japanese maple as a specimen plant in your garden, or if you have a Japanese maple collection, these delightful trees will surely become sort of pets and will bring many years of satisfaction to their proud owners.
We can’t do much to change the weather forecast, but if your tree has leafed out early and an extended spell of freezing weather is expected, you might try constructing a shelter around small Japanese maples to protect them from the cold, drying wind. As added protection, keep an incandescent light bulb burning inside the shelter to maintain a higher temperature for the tree. This attempt to prevent damage to the tree would be worth the extra effort.
Whether you are growing just one Japanese maple as a specimen plant in your garden, or if you have a Japanese maple collection, these delightful trees will surely become sort of pets and will bring many years of satisfaction to their proud owners.
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