Species · Deciduous trees like maple and elm
Japanese maple
Acer palmatum
Japanese maple is grown as much for autumn colour and leaf shape as for structure — fine ramification and small, well-proportioned leaves are the whole point of a mature specimen, and defoliation is used routinely to keep leaf size down relative to the trunk. It heals cuts cleanly when pruned in the right window and colours reliably in cooler autumns.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Check daily in growing season; never let it dry out completely. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 1 in summer, 2 in autumn and 5 in winter.
- Light
- Full sun to light shade.
- Winter
- Hardy once established; protect the roots from hard freeze in the pot. Protect it when the forecast drops below -15 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 14 days, Apr to Oct, paused in the hottest weeks.
- Repotting
- Every 2 to 3 years, before buds move, in Feb or Mar.
- Growth
- Moderate growth. Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | Mar | Apr | Nov | |||||||||
| Wire | Jan | Feb | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||
| Pinch | May | Jun | Jul | |||||||||
| Defoliate | Jun |
Styles that suit it
MoyogiChokkanShakanSokanHokidachi