Can I move a Japanese Maple?

Hi everyone,

This is my first post as a new member (and quite a novice to the world of gardening)

About 5 years ago, we bought a lovely Japanese Maple (it cost about �£60). When we bought it, we put it in a large (very large) patio pot. After a year or two, we decided that it would probably be healthier if we planted it in the ground and after much deliberation, decided to risk it.

We dug a hole the size of the pot and basically took the whole thing - tree, roots and soil - out of the pot and planted it in the hole.

Fortunately it worked. Unfortunately, it worked too well, because it has no grown to such an extent that I need to move it - we planted it in a fairly narrow border, with a garage at one site and a path at the other.

- so here's the question.

I want to move it to our front garden, but the soil is very thick with clay and drainage is fairly poor (at the moment, it is just decorative pebbles). I really don't want to kill the thing.

Do you think that I'm in danger of doing so if I lift it and try and plant it in this poor environment, or are they fairly hardy?

If anyonce can offer any advice I'd be really grateful.

 

If you can wait until Autumn it would be better. Whenever you move it these things should help:

Make sure the new position is not in full sun, particularly early morning sun.

Prepare the new place thoroughly in advance, dig it over and add soil improver over an area somewhat bigger and deeper than the hole your plant will need. Depending on the clay some grit might help as well.

Prune some of the top branches [mainly the longer ones] to up to half their length to reduce demand on the roots.

Loosen the soil with a fork a couple of feet around the maple so that you will be able to get out as many small roots as possible.

Dig the plant out getting as much of the root ball as possible and if you can keep the soil on so much the better.

The transplanted tree won't need fertiliser right away.
Hope this helps!

[ 26. May 2006, 10:41 AM: Message edited by: Liz ]

 

Thanks Liz

I can wait until Autumn - that won't be a problem. Anything that means I don't kill it (I'd rather redesign my whole garden around it than lift it if there is a risk of killing it)

Thanks very much for the tips (although the pruning is a bit frightening!).

Thanks again

 

MattStan,

I agree totally with liz about time of moving soil preparation etc, but please find out what Jap maple it is before you prune it. This is good advice for most other trees but I have seen many large propsering Jap maples killed by die back and other infections from pruning.

I have several jap maples which vary in their tollerance of pruning. I have pruned them all in my gardening education and its not a one size fits all answer. I openly admit when I first bought mine some 8 years ago I damged mine even with light pruning. The red maples and in my case the 'bloodgood' hates being pruned and it is not recomended to do this unless your life depends on it. But I have another, which the name escapes me, that I have pruned extensively and it has responded well. It is a light green one but I will find its label.

If you do decide to prune then please get some advice on wound treatment from jap maple nursery, easy to find one one the internet, as the last thing you would want when it is newly planted are bacteria getting in to a stressed tree.

I hope this helps, they can be quite valuable when mature so its worth looking after them. My brother and his wife just bought a house with a 10 foot semi mature bloodgood and it is a real bonus to find it in your garden having bought the house. There is evidence of die back from some pruning in an effort to lift the crown and you can see it has affected its growth and it has spoilt the look a bit. But it has recovered.

I visited a place in herfordshire call 'tree heritage' when I bought some 20 foot trees to re do my front garden and they had bloodgoods there that were in their �£thousands. One in fact was destined for liverpool football club!

BM

 

If you don't prune it is even more important to get out a good sized root ball- it really depends how big your tree is! Your digging line should be the 'drip line', and the forking outside that- you may need help in lifting.
Acer palmatum usually respond ok to pruning, but I can see why you would not want to, and in any case if you're waiting until autumn/dormancy not so necessary.

[ 26. May 2006, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: Liz ]

 

MattStan,

This is a good resource for Jap maples. I would think they would be only too happy to advise you on pruning and moving.

http://www.bodwen-nursery.co.uk/index.html

http://www.bodwen-nursery.co.uk/japanesemaplesli.html

BM

 

Hi MattStan,
I too agree with Banana man on the pruning of your Acer.
We have one 24years old, and the only work we do on it is to lightly trim back any dead bits of wood in the spring as it is coming into life.

We tried ours in the garden, in clay soil, but it started dying, so after reading gardening books on Acers we went and bought a large pot and some peaty type compost.

Our Acer Palmatum which is of the Bloodgood type has gone from strength to strength and is on it's 4th flowerpot and stands at about 8ft high.

They don't like cold wind or they will end up with scorched leaves.

If you must move it, I would most certainly wait until the Autumn unless you are potting it, and I certainly wouldn't put it anywhere near Clay.

Hope this information helps.

 

It's very much a mistake to assume all Japanese acers like acid soil. Some actually prefer alkaline or heavy clay! So it would be a good idea,Mattstan, to check the variety- since you paid a lot for it I expect you know what it is.

The bloodgood type would indeed not like clay, but equally atropurpureum would not like acid soil! That's why I said it's important to prepare the soil in advance.

The point about pruning is that it reduces stress on the roots. Whilst Japanese acers do not need routine pruning this does not mean it is impossible! I would certainly do it if I were forced to move a tree at an inopportune time, but as I said, in Autumn it won't be so important.
Perhaps it would be better if you can tell us what variety it is?

 

...and if its a big wound get advice on dressing treatments to avoid stress and contamination.

Post a piccie see if we all can identify it.

 

I was told by a Bonsai expert that if you prune Jap maples cut them somewhere around the middle of the internode and not too close to a bud. It gives the plant a chance to defend itself against any pruning infection. Having said that I have on occasion pruned these things and watched with increasing gloom as they weakened off and died over the next couple of years - presumably as the infection spread from the prunung cuts. Never had any trouble with Bloodgoods though, they are SO vigorous and IMHO require thinning out to maintain shape. Maybe if you have to move the plant you should make a raised bed in your front garden so the drainage and pH can be controlled. I haven't personally found Jap maples to be overly fussy about pH or normal spread of drainage conditions. I think if the plant was mine and I had to m ove it I would follow Banana Man's advice and make as little interruption to the plant as possible, just get the biggest possible rootball. If possible (time no object!) dig down under it and insert a board or firm support under it so the rootball doesn't sag too much when the plant is lifted. Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I've actually no idea what variety of Japanese Maple I have - having looked on a few websites, it's clear that there are a miriad of varieties (and here I was thinking it was just a Japanese Maple!)

All I can tell you is that it is red, has long drooping branches and is more like a "weeping bush" than a tree.

I'll try and get some photo's up so that you can see what I mean and maybe someone can identify it.

Thanks again for all your help

 

Whist I was in hospital some years ago my acers were very much over watered by helpful neighbour [not being sarcastic here, it was summer time and but for their help a lot would have gone to pot in the 2 months I was away]. One had just one shoot low down the stem the next year so I cut off the main stem just above this liitle effort . It is now thriving, so you never can tell.
However as I said if waiting until Autumn you can leave the pruning: the advice about putting a support underneath the roots is good, the more you get out the better.

 

MattStan,

I have in mind what you have described, something like an Acer palmatum dissectum. There is a lovely one in the grounds of a posh house down the road. I wont take a picture as they might think I am casing the joint!

However, there are loads on this link on the bbc plant guide which is a good reference starting point.

http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=Japanese+maple&uri=%2Fgardening%2Fplants%2Fplant_finder%2Fplant_pages%2F9.shtml&go.x=20&go.y=15

http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/Information/EG/PlantsA/Acer4.htm

http://www.pendulousplants.com/catalog_a-c.htm

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/47088/

 

would anyone reommend root pruning over the summer, to define the root ball when the plant is moved in late autumn [ie when dormant]

PS for BANANAMAN, if you wear your bananman outfit when taking the pics they wont be able to identify you in the line-up, or you could get one of those nice red and black striped jeseys and a black mask, either way they ll never guess you are only interested in palmatum!!

[ 28. May 2006, 08:54 AM: Message edited by: Lady Gardener ]

 

I would not want to recomend root pruning not having done it myself on JMpl's I don't know how this would affect the plant. Sounds ok in theory but really the people that could tell you are these.

http://www.bodwen-nursery.co.uk/index.html

Lady Gardener I see you are familiar with the way of the super hero. 'Lady Gardener', that sounds like the name of a very dignified superhero ? :D