How much does a maple suffer when she remains in a pot rather than being planted out? I have lots of maples growing and most of them are not planted out. For several reasons. First of all I wanted to know which location is best for my maples in the garden. So I moved them around, arranged them until I found the perfect spot. For example my young seedlings stay the whole summer in 3inch pots in a big circle around the wine barrel pot of a large Disektum. They love it. Some of my maples I planted out to limit stress and let them grow faster, but I can not say that they look any bigger or healthier after 3 years. Today I arranged 20 different JM around a goldfish pond shaded by a liquidamber not far from a black bamboo feature. Of course there are roots everywhere and nothing is more invasive than Bamboo [unfortunately planted years ago in the ground]. So I arranged {buried} all maples still in the pots. Is that really so bad? They have the best soil ,good drainage and won't get bothered by roots and other plants. The holes in the pots are big enough to grow roots through them if they want. What do you think regards Wolfgang
wolf,really have you planted maples with pot in soil? why ? i not understand.. for me remove the pot ,because,maple want good deinage...
Wolf they will become pot bound. Acers can become big trees down the years. You might try this idea if you are trying to keep roots away. Get some of the black plastic root barrier and make a BIG circle of it with good composty soil in it . The one I use is about a foot high 20 cm or more . I dig a hole put the barrier in then fill it up with good soil. I am using this method to help keep water up to my more fragile plants during our drought. This way they are free to sink their long roots down but still have good soil and water to feed off. Liz
The trees will tell you over time. I see no problem with what you're doing. Notice you can move 20 potted JM's to a highlighted place immediately. Can't do that with planted trees. Burying potted maples keeps the roots cooler. Mulching the top of the pots keeps roots cooler also. Pots need more watering & some minor feeding but the former means you're watching the plants daily to see any problems immediately. I grow many JM's in pots. You do need to watch for pot bound roots over time. Sounds like you are having fun which is a big point of the exercise. The trees are the experts.
