Hello, I am new to the forum and am happy to see that it is so active. I am hoping to learn a lot here. I live in Citrus County Florida, USA. My zone is either 8b or 9A (depending on where I am searching). My heat zone is 10. When I first moved here I bought a small Japanese maple from a box store. I have it facing east and it gets morning sun. It is doing very well except it may be a bit too shaded in the rear of the tree. I am going to search this forum to try and see if I can identify it. Anyway, I am in the process of purchasing a couple of Tamukeyama maples. Does anyone one this forum have any feeling as to what chance this maple has. My soil is very sandy so I have to ammend it but eventually it will grow into the sand. Sorry for the rambling but I really miss my J.M. from my NY garden. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Re: japanese maples If the one is doing very well the other probably will too. Mulch instead of amending.
Re: japanese maples I have been told that Japanese Maples need a dormant period in the winter to rest and if they don't get it they only last a few years. It may have to do with chill hours. The ones at Disney World must be replaced about every 4 years. I don't have first hand information, so you might want to confirm this information with people in your area. Dale
Re: japanese maples Does anyone know the required chill hours for japanese maples. Is it the same for every type? Thanks
Re: japanese maples You need not worry too much about cold chill for Tamukeyama grown in Citrus County. Oranges require some cold weather in order to "sugar up". Even in Orlando there is enough coolness to allow the Oranges to produce sugar. Think of your growing area as being a lot like Los Angeles and neighboring areas but without so much of the uniformity of temperatures during the growing season. You should get a longer growing season than many other areas will but not like Los Angeles or San Diego especially. Since the cooling comes later in the year then the Maples will leaf out a little later than most areas will in the Spring because the plants will shut down to go dormant later in the Winter than many areas will. Morning sunlight for Tamukeyama with afternoon protection will work for you. One thing that is a no-no is to fertilize your Maple(s) late in the year where you are with Nitrogen as you do not want a lot of new growth when the Maple should be setting leaf buds prior to shutting down for the Winter. Fertilize with any Nitrogen in the Spring only where you are. Loamy sand is not a problem for Maples and in many cases adding in humus is not always needed. For coarse sand then yes, humus is a helpful soil amendment in warmer climates to allow for better water retention in the soil. Many Citrus are grown in a sandy loam soil and in most areas a coarse humus and even a real fine to an Orchid grade bark (small sized walk on bark will work) is all we may want to add in or place on top of the soil as a soil amendment. Jim
Re: japanese maples I just want to thank you all for the advice. I am all fired up and ready to place my orders for JM. This is a strange area. An orange tree may do well for a couple of years and them bam we get hit with frost for a couple of hours and good bye. Three miles away they are fine. Once again thanks Judy
Re: japanese maples Another thought. As I have to mail order these trees does anyone have any thought as : 1. Am I better off ordering from a neighboring state, i.e. southeast (they may be more acclimated but in leaf. 2. Ordering from Oregon and neighboring states as the trees may not be leafed out Thanks for any advice Does it matter? Judy
Re: japanese maples Hi Judy, That is the thing with microclimates. I live in Hollywood and it can be 90 degrees here, but as soon as you crest the hills and enter the San Fernando Valley just a couple miles away you get hit with 100+ temps! Sweltering... When people ask me about a watering regimen I always tell them it all depends! If no one has told you yet if you get spring frosts you need to protect your Japanese maples. If they're kept in pots it'll be easier. You can just move them into an unheated garage or basement till the threat of frost is gone. But, if your's are planted in the ground you need to take precautions to minimize die back due to frost damage. As far as ordering from the Pac. northwest or other areas away from your state you have to realize the maples are grown in a different enivronment. Actually, even if they were grown in your own state they'd be growing in a slightly different environment than your's (microclimate). Keep in mind that the maples need to acclimate and may not look good (leaf scorch) for at least a season. I've had experience that sometimes just taking them home from a local nursery's environment and into mine will cause them some stress and leaf scorch or twig die back will result. The great thing about our delicate maples is that they are very resilient and adaptable. Springtime is a good time to mailorder as it's still relatively cool. Summertime is too hot and the trees *will* suffer for it. Hence, many mailorder nurseries will tag your tree and ship out in the fall. Please share your maples with us when you get the chance. Hope this helps, Layne
Re: japanese maples My JM will be here Tuesday or Wednesday. Is it advisable to add a little rooting hormone when planting? Judy
