Japanese Maple

I've been growing plants seriously for over fifteen years and Japanese Maple remains a reliable favourite. For anyone starting out: the most critical thing is formative pruning in the first five years to build a clear leader. Everything else follows from that. scale insects or aphids in the canopy …

Here are my notes from twelve months of growing Japanese Maple: Spring: autumn colour and fruit or berry display. This was the moment that confirmed the whole venture. I focused on keeping a mulch-free collar immediately around the trunk during this period which set up the rest of the year. except…

I planted Japanese Maple at entirely the wrong point in the growing calendar and spent the first few months wondering what I'd done wrong. verticillium wilt causing branch dieback on susceptible species didn't help matters. Once I understood staking correctly with a low stake to allow the trunk to f…

I'm a busy person and can't give every plant the attention the books recommend. Here's what I've learned about the minimum viable care for Japanese Maple. staking correctly with a low stake to allow the trunk to flex and strengthen is genuinely non-negotiable — skip this and the plant declines noti…

I planted Japanese Maple primarily for ornamental reasons. What I didn't anticipate was the wildlife it would attract. exceptional seasonal spectacle from blossom through autumn colour seems to be particularly appealing to bees and butterflies during the main growing period. I grow it in a garden f…

I nearly gave up on Japanese Maple after three months of mediocre results. Then I focused properly on formative pruning in the first five years to build a clear leader and within a few weeks the difference was dramatic. It now lives in a boundary or avenue planting in a larger space and has genuine…

My first attempt at Japanese Maple failed — verticillium wilt causing branch dieback on susceptible species got hold of it and I didn't know what I was looking at until it was too late. I left it alone for a year before trying again. The second attempt, with proper attention to formative pruning in…

Japanese Maple is clearly a great plant — I can see that from other people's results. Mine has been decent but not spectacular, and I think I know why. I underestimated the importance of watering deeply and regularly in the first two growing seasons in the early stages and paid for it. honey fungus…

Japanese Maple is a genuinely satisfying plant to grow, but I want to be upfront about one thing: verticillium wilt causing branch dieback on susceptible species. I've dealt with it twice now and it takes consistent attention to manage. Beyond that, multi-decade investment that improves year on yea…

I've been growing Japanese Maple for a full year now and want to capture what each season offered. autumn colour and fruit or berry display was the clear high point — everything you're told about Japanese Maple at that time of year is true. But the plant has something to offer in every season, which…