I am giving you my thoughts on planting a Crimson King maple in your front yard. (A lot of what I say you will know already, of course.) I am all for planting trees but here's the thing: it does not pay to try and "cheap out" with a bargain tree. If you can, go to a tree nursery and get a good one, preferably older than just a sapling so you can already see the shape of it. (I have found that saplings' growth patterns are unpredictable.) Follow the planting instructions to the letter (depth of hole, dealing with the root ball, watering and fertilizing). Plant well away from fences and even sidewalks. You don't want to be trimming unruly branches all the time.
It's lovely to build a whole bed around a tree, but if you're NOT going to do that, keep a grass-free circle around the tree for the first few years. (PLEASE do not use brick-red mulch with a maroon-leaved red maple tree, even if you happen to be one of those people that likes red mulch in other areas of the yard.) Never pile mulch like an anthill around the bottom of the tree. Leave the trunk clear. It's nice to plant bulbs in that little circle.
Now, if you were thinking of making a long term bed under or around the tree, you might want to think of reliable performers (even shrubs) with nice foliage rather than showy flowers. I am thinking of hostas, heuchera, low-growing sedum, that sort of thing. Unless you want to plant daylilies, of course, because they go anywhere. ;-)
Hi Alison, Japanese maples are a different creature altogether. Very fussy! You might spend a lot of money (good big ones go for around $300 around here) only to lose it after a year. I've seen it happen at so many houses in this neighbourhood. Just warning you.
'Bloodgood' is hardier than the wispier kind, but mine never seems to grow very big. (It doesn't help that the rabbits love eating it!)
My mom has a low-growing Japanese Maple that she protects with a burlap frame around it through the winter (can you say "fussy"? -- the plant, not my mom!), but it's lovely! It's more of a bush than a tree though. If you like the look of Japanese maple, PC Insider's Report is recommending sambucus nigra as an alternative. It is not fussy at all and will grow anywhere, with similar "exotic looking" foliage to the wispy (and fussy) Japanese maple.
This is the story of the transformation of a bland property in Nova Scotia into what will hopefully be an oasis in the midst of the business of life. I find much joy in gardening and wanted to have somewhere to record the unfolding of my space.
2 comments:
I am giving you my thoughts on planting a Crimson King maple in your front yard. (A lot of what I say you will know already, of course.) I am all for planting trees but here's the thing: it does not pay to try and "cheap out" with a bargain tree. If you can, go to a tree nursery and get a good one, preferably older than just a sapling so you can already see the shape of it. (I have found that saplings' growth patterns are unpredictable.) Follow the planting instructions to the letter (depth of hole, dealing with the root ball, watering and fertilizing). Plant well away from fences and even sidewalks. You don't want to be trimming unruly branches all the time.
It's lovely to build a whole bed around a tree, but if you're NOT going to do that, keep a grass-free circle around the tree for the first few years. (PLEASE do not use brick-red mulch with a maroon-leaved red maple tree, even if you happen to be one of those people that likes red mulch in other areas of the yard.) Never pile mulch like an anthill around the bottom of the tree. Leave the trunk clear. It's nice to plant bulbs in that little circle.
Now, if you were thinking of making a long term bed under or around the tree, you might want to think of reliable performers (even shrubs) with nice foliage rather than showy flowers. I am thinking of hostas, heuchera, low-growing sedum, that sort of thing. Unless you want to plant daylilies, of course, because they go anywhere. ;-)
Hi Alison, Japanese maples are a different creature altogether. Very fussy! You might spend a lot of money (good big ones go for around $300 around here) only to lose it after a year. I've seen it happen at so many houses in this neighbourhood. Just warning you.
'Bloodgood' is hardier than the wispier kind, but mine never seems to grow very big. (It doesn't help that the rabbits love eating it!)
My mom has a low-growing Japanese Maple that she protects with a burlap frame around it through the winter (can you say "fussy"? -- the plant, not my mom!), but it's lovely! It's more of a bush than a tree though. If you like the look of Japanese maple, PC Insider's Report is recommending sambucus nigra as an alternative. It is not fussy at all and will grow anywhere, with similar "exotic looking" foliage to the wispy (and fussy) Japanese maple.
Just my two cents.
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