Japanese Maples – amaryllia.com

Brown Thumb

Amy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:54:04 +0000

Yesterday, I returned home from a 4-day business trip to Missoula and found my barely 3 year old “Kamagata” hanging off my back patio in a cliffhanger-esque fashion, completely brown and crispy. It appeared that sometime between Sunday and Thursday, a large storm or gust of wind had tipped over the container so that the trunk of the tree squeezed right between two deck banisters and all of the soil poured out, leaving the tree hanging by its root ball. With Atlanta’s blistering heat this Summer, it would be surprising if the tree survived through one afternoon, let alone the 4 or 5 days while I was gone.

I guess technically speaking, this death can’t be blamed on my brown thumb. However, with “Shaina’s” root rot and passing 6 months ago, combined with “Kamagata’s” death-by-drought, I’m starting to wonder if I should move my remaining 9 Japanese maples to my parents’, where I know they won’t die, or continue to care for them here, and risk learning many more lessons the hard way…

I keep thinking that if only I could move to a new house with a large semi-shaded and fenced backyard, all my concerns with leaf burn, container-planting, West-facing afternoon sun, and tree-theft would be alleviated and I could grow my trees as successfully as any nursery. Luckily, I’m not so blind as to see past my own mistakes and I realize that a change in location can only fix a small percentage of my tree-killing issues. There’s never an easy solution to anything is there?

UPDATE 8/11: My coiled Hawaiian umbrella bonsai at work has been inflicted with some sort of white mold/fungus-looking spots on its leaves and has maybe 1 week left to live. Not sure what kind of chemical I need to spray on it, but given my luck recently it probably won’t matter what I try.

Japanese Garden Gallery

Amy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:44:42 +0000

Japanese Maple Primer

Amy — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:08:30 +0000

I had the pleasure of attending Norm Mittleider’s class at the Atlanta Botanical Garden earlier today.

Japanese Maple Primer: Care and Pruning

Date: Saturday, June 7
Time: 10 a.m. – noon

Learn from a renowned Atlanta expert how to care for and prune your Japanese Maple tree. This class will cover the selection, planting, and care of Japanese Maples, with an emphasis on basic pruning techniques. Proper aesthetic pruning will add vitality and beauty to your Japanese Maple trees.

Instructor: Norm Mittleider, Art of Pruning

As someone who is brand new to the gardening world (I purchased my first plant last November), I thought this class sounded like a good place to start for “beginners” – and it is. Unfortunately, much of the material that was covered in the first half of class seemed too basic and should be common sense for anyone who has ever Googled “japanese maple”.

Despite the slow start, I did end up with two valuable takeaways:

Plant Japanese Maples in shallow & broad planting holes. Make sure the trunk flare is at least 1-2 inches above grade to prevent crown rot.
All pruning cuts should follow the “Coarse to Fine” rule, which states that the progression from coarse wood to fine wood should be maintained. In other words, the main trunk should be the boldest, or coarsest, line; as you move away from the trunk of the tree, the lines should become finer. What this means, and I might be over-generalizing a bit, is that each time you encounter a branching point near where you would like to prune the tree, cut off at the start of the thicker branch. Never leave a stub.

Additional Resources:

Aesthetic Pruning by Yuki Nara
Pruning Mature Trees by the International Society of Arboriculture
The Merritt College Pruning Club

If you still don’t trust your pruning skills or you’re dealing with a fairly sizable tree, find a professional pruner near your area.

Maple Ridge Nursery

Amy — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:10:06 +0000

Today I visited Maple Ridge Nursery for the second time and added two more beautiful baby trees to my Japanese Maple collection: a tall and thin “Ornatum” and a low sweeping “Okushimo”. Although I may be biased because I haven’t yet visited many nurseries, I found Mike & Christy at Maple Ridge Nursery to be two of the friendliest and most sincere people I’ve ever met. They are both so knowledgeable and truly passionate about Japanese Maples that I found myself envying the lifestyle they’ve made for themselves and their happiness.