good luck with that there!
No harm in trying though. Just an expensive experiment
Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Japanese Maple 41Jan 05, 2010 8:24 pm good luck with that there! No harm in trying though. Just an expensive experiment Re: Japanese Maple 42Jan 05, 2010 9:27 pm Fu: is that reply for me? Maples won't grow here? I love the look of them. Is there something else you can recommend? There is a maple tree down my street, but it is about 8m tall.. so much bigger than what I would like for my front garden. The house is set back 7m from our front fence so there is a bit of room. Regards, Kristi Living the dream. 4 horsey acres in the country. What's the next project??? Re: Japanese Maple 43Jan 08, 2010 12:43 pm I think it will be too hot and humid for them but if you can afford it, have a go. You never know Just right it off and if things don't go well, nothing lost The one down the road may actually be a Platinus which some can have similar looking leaves and they are very commonly used in landscapes and can grow pretty well in SEQ. Re: Japanese Maple 44Jan 17, 2010 8:41 am Hello all, Last Spring I bought a couple of Weeping Japanese Maples (Acer palmaum Atropurpureum dissectum & Acer palmatum dissesctum viride - the purple one is about 5 feet high, the green one is about 6 feet or so high, in the pots), along with a couple of small standard maples (all the garden centre called them were "bonsai starters", so no idea what variety, but they've got the 'regular' green leaves). Anyhoo, I've been keeping them under the carport so far this Summer - they get direct morning sun and afternoon shade under the tin roof). They've been suffering a lot of heat stress - they're more or less protected by northerly winds by a 6 foot high fence, but the leaves are pretty severely burnt (the atropurpureum has probably coped the best), but we've had a few days this summer of 40+ degrees, so obviously that's contributed to it! Anyhoo - we've just finished building a massive shadecloth pergola (6m x 13m) which we plan on creating our "Japanese garden" under. It's covered in cream 70% shadecloth. Does anyone think this will be sufficient in protecting them from the hot Summer sun? (I'm in Adelaide - basically no humidity at all). At the moment they're all in pots - won't be planting them in the ground until in cools down in Autumn. I Would be especially interested to know if anyone else is keeping their maples in similar environments.. Thanks Bek Re: Japanese Maple 45Jan 17, 2010 9:48 am It's not so much the sun that is the problem but wind. Wind causes a much higher evaporation rate than heat. The water leaves the leaf faster than it can go in, but there are things you can do in plant care to reduce that Damage will still occur in high air temps. With regard to the fence, they actually don't offer as much protection as you think. High shrubs and trees will do a much better job in addition to the fence. When winds hit barriers like fence the area directly behind the fence is protected and is an area of low air pressure, but then just out from that is an area of high pressure where the air eddies round. Like when you see condensation coming of plane wing tips. This further highlights the need for effective shrubs to act as screens and habitat around your boundaries. They diffuse the air flow and make things much happier in the garden If you ever see vinyards in high wind locations they use very open screens to diffuse rather than block winds. West Aussies might have seen the ones along Great Northern Highway in the Swan Valley. Have you already used the shade cloth? White will be the ultimate colour to use if possible but cream colours are a good second If it's not cut up can you return it and get white of 70% or 90%? Make sure the water is kept up to them in the pots. What needs to be watched is if the pots dry out. When you rewater it may look wet on top but the water mainly runs down the sides and out the pot. It will still require up to 5-7 waterings with breaks to fully rewet the inner rootball. It corks as the term goes. That has a huge effect on leaf health. Also the fine feeder roots are damaged once dry, so reabsorbtion of water into the plant will be affected for a good 3-4 weeks after the drying of the pot. Avoid fertilising. That will create lush weak growth. The leaf cells become thin. Lots of seasol and occasional molasses will ensure thicker leaf cells and better tolerance to stresses. Get some Yates drought shield also and spray the foliage Potting mix, use the best possible. Even some well advertised brands are rubbish and even though they have the red ticks the differences are massive between them. I use combinations for the best water holding ability. I use Hortico (black ticks/standard grade), Naked Farmer and coco peat all together and you'll be blown away with the health of the plants. One straight out of the bag is Osmocote Premium (has a blue and white bag). Way better than others around the same price. There is more but I won't bore you guys Re: Japanese Maple 46Jan 17, 2010 11:30 am Thanks for all the tips Fu Manchu - I'll definitely try out your ideas. Sorry for sounding like an idiot, but isn't molasses a syrupy, sugary food? How would I feed it to the plants? Or is there just a plant food with the same name? At the moment they're all still in the pots I bought from the garden centre, and the only additional stuff I've added is some organic compost, which I read is supposed to be good. When it comes to planting them into the ground, would I choose a different potting mix, or stick with the same? Our back garden is pretty devoid of any natural shade (hence the shadecloth pergola), so shrubs and trees aren't going to help me with wind protection. Would adding some shade cloth to the sides of the pergola help in the meantime? I'm assuming northerly winds are the worst? We've just finished building the pergola, so we're stuck with the cream 70% colour. May I ask why you think white is better? At the moment I *think* I'm watering them enough - every day when it's hot (over 30), and then I'll give them a break for a day if it's a bit cooler (around 25). I know overwatering can be just as bad as underwatering, so I figure the occasional break might do them good if I'm going a little overboard on the hot days! Sorry for the million questions - this is my first summer with them, and I really don't want to see the $350 odd I spent on them all go to waste! Plus, they're awesome looking when they're not burnt! Re: Japanese Maple 47Jan 17, 2010 11:38 am Zigwah Thanks for all the tips Fu Manchu - I'll definitely try out your ideas. Sorry for sounding like an idiot, but isn't molasses a syrupy, sugary food? How would I feed it to the plants? Or is there just a plant food with the same name? The molasses you are thinking of is correct! If you do a search on Fu's name and molasses then you will get all the info you need but for now, you pretty much disolve some in some hot water, then mix it into some cold in a watering can and away you go. 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Japanese Maple 48Jan 17, 2010 11:45 am try at all costs to avoid potting mix in the ground, it acts totally different to how it does in the ground Use high grade certified organic soils. One you can buy in a bag is "The Naked Farmer" which you dig through the entire area of the garden, you can't rely on digging a hole and putting soil in. It will be a waste of time and money. prep the area to 300-400mm deep and the long term success of you plants in there will be increased by a massive amount viewtopic.php?f=19&t=15058&p=237282&hilit=how+to+use+molasses#p237282 Molasses, well have a search using the tool in the top right corner, use my username and molasses as the key word. search.php?keywords=molasses+and+how+to+use&terms=all&author=Fu+Manchu&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search |