Greetings, I read somewhere that soil with a lot of organic matter was not the best to grow Japanese Maples. I have a lot of my trees in pots as I could not bear to leave them if I moved again. This makes me wonder on the best potting mix formula for the maples and how often should they be repotted. I had one tree in a pot that had very average organic content and it did not do well but when I repotted it into a high organic content, it has flourished. I think the drainage has also improved but moisture retention is also up (if that makes sense). So, perhaps some maple guru would let me know if potted maples have a specific taste in planting medium. Regards Stephen
Japanese maples appear to do best in a slightly acid well drained soil They do not, apparently, like too much fertilising However, if they are in pots, they would obviously need some attention with fertilising .... possibly a little dusting each spring when they are coming to life?
Good drainage is a must. If the organic matter is peat, it may not drain well and keep too much water and not enough air near the roots. Some organic matter is more like a sponge and that isn't good. I have found that the organic matter in some potting soil may have good drainage when new but will break down over time and may loose the ability to drain well. That's probably the reason to repot every year or two. I use mostly pine bark mulch in my potting mix. It drains well for a year or two, but I have had cases where earth worms have gotten up in the pots and broken down the mixture in one year. Dale
