What to do with my Acer in the spring

Hi all,

I was writing on this forum in September time after I had planted my Acer Palmatum Atropurpureum in May and the leaves had scorched and fell off. Since then I have left the tree there, covered the soil surrounding it with chipped bark and see how it got on over the winter.

I am happy to report that my tree appears to have survived and the new leaves are starting to come through from their buds due to the nice weather we have recently had (the past few days excluded tut).

So now I am wondering whether I need to do anything. Does it need feeding? If so, what? If not now, when?

Do I need to do anything to the soil surrounding it?

Thanks

 

No ...
It does NOT need feeding .... Japanese maples do not need a lot of fertiliser
No ... leave the surrounding soil alone ... I see you have already mulched for the winter. Just make sure the chipped bark doesn't lie against the trunk of the tree as it can cause damage that way and encourage disease
All you need to do is to hope that you don't get a heavy frost after the first little leaves appear. Even if you do, the good news is that Japanese maples have one extra set of buds available for just such an occasion, so all would not be lost even then
What you should do? just leave the tree alone and wait for the beauty of these special plants to delight you during the spring summer and autumn

 

Brilliant thanks very much.

If the weather does get very warm how often should I water it if there is little rain?

Thanks

 

In our climate once a Japanese maple becomes established it should be able to fend for itself quite well. I make sure a plant is watered for its first year. Depending on its situation with you it will probably be fine. If it is in a very well draining soil, and there has been little rain, or a lot hotter than we are used to, you might be sensible to give it a drink if you think it is in need .... they like moist (but NOT wet) conditions.
be guided by your own feelings on that subject as the conditions demand