Japanese maple (Acer Palmatum) is a deciduous woody plant. The Latin name Acer means pointed which refers to its pointed lobed leaves, while Palmatum means palmate which refers to the characteristic of the leaves which are spread out like a human palm. It comes from the sapindovka family and belongs to trees of low growth. It is best recognized in autumn by its attractive and enchanting red leaves.
As for the basic characteristics, the canopy is thin and airy and can reach a circumference of about 200 cm. Furthermore, the twigs are thin, naked and red, and the trunk is slender and often starts to divide early into two equal trunks, taking the shape of the letter Y. It grows from 8 – 10 meters in height. The leaves are palmately cut, consist of 5 to 9 leaflets with a jagged edge – it looks like a palm, from where the popular name palm-leaf maple originates. In spring, the leaves are green, yellow and red, while in autumn they take on a more pronounced red color.
The flowers are bisexual, purple in color and clustered in short panicled inflorescences. Flowering takes place throughout April and May, and the fertilized flowers develop into fruits. The fruit is a winged scale 2 to 3 centimeters long, each of which contains one seed that will ripen in October. Winged scales come in pairs.
Japanese maple wood
This type of maple is known for a large number of cultivars, so we can recognize Altropurpureum (dark red leaves), Crispum (dark green leaves and cylindrical crown), Hessei (dark purple leaves) and others.
Some of the related species are the maple, the chub maple, the negundovac, the maple and the silver-leaf maple.
Weather conditions for planting: sunny to partial shade
Soil: fertile, slightly acidic and moist
Flowering time: April and May
Ripening time: October
Canopy: girth 200 cm, sparse and airy
Tree height: 300 cm
Root: shallow
Leaves: palmately cut, 5 to 9 leaflets with a toothed edge
Flower: bisexual, purple
Fruit: a winged scale with a seed
Propagation: cuttings, seeds
Planting Japanese maple
Japanese maple is planted in fertile, moderately moist and slightly acidic soil. The Japanese maple does not tolerate strong winds and is suitable for sunny to semi-shady weather conditions. However, an adult plant can withstand temperatures up to -30°C, but then the top shoots can be damaged. In this case, it is not necessary to intervene because the plant will recover very quickly by itself. This does not apply to young plants because they are quite vulnerable and it is recommended to grow them in controlled conditions.
Japanese maple is propagated by cuttings or seeds. The cuttings are combined with hormones in the spring, that is, after moistening, they are immersed in a hormonal preparation for scarring. After that, the cuttings are placed upright in a hole in the ground, the bottom of which is sprinkled with a little sand, with at least 5 cm of their top sticking out above the ground. Preventive spraying with fungicide is also recommended.
When propagating by seeds, the seeds must be fresh and ripe (collected in October), after which they are placed in dry sand and in a cool place. Japanese maple planting, i.e. seeds prepared in this way, is done in the spring.
Cultivation of Japanese maple
The Japanese maple is grown in a garden or park and with its attractive red color it visually beautifies the space. The cultivation of Japanese maple can be in combination with other plants, such as shrubs and lower woody plants, but it is more beautiful when planted individually, isolated from other species.
For cultivation, it is best to obtain already grafted cultivars that ensure the health and quality of the plant.
When choosing a location, it is best to plant green-leaved cultivars in areas with afternoon shade, variegated-leaf cultivars in semi-shaded areas, and red-leafed cultivars in areas that receive at least half a day of direct sunlight (otherwise the leaves lose their distinctive red color).
Attention must also be paid to the area around the trunk – namely, it must be free of undergrowth and overgrown grass that can prevent the normal flow of water and nutrients to the tree. In cases of high summer heat or low temperatures accompanied by gusts of cold wind, physiological burning of the leaves can occur as a result.
Watering a Japanese maple on moist soil is best done early in the morning or in the evening, and in the case of dry soil, you should first think about how to keep the moisture in the soil so that it does not dry out. Some of the solutions are covering the ground or mulching.
In Croatia, it thrives in both Mediterranean and continental climates, on moist and slightly acidic soil that should not be too rich in humus. It is also possible to grow Japanese maple on less suitable soil, but then the plant will grow lower than its average. The species that grow here are somewhat lower than those that grow in Japanese regions – from half a meter to 3 meters.
Japanese maple cultivars that are suitable for our climate are Acer palmatum Atropurpureum, Acer palmatum Dissectum antropurpureum (bushy red-leaved), Acer palmatum Dissectum (bushy green-leaved), Acer palmatum (ungrafted red-leaved Japanese maple), Acer palmatum Shishigashira (for rockeries), Acer palmatum Asahi zuru (green-white leaves) and Acer palmatum Deshojo (small red-white leaves).
As for growing in pots and containers (so-called bonsai growing), we can say that this species is ideal for that because it has shallow roots and does not need much water. It is best to devise a uniform watering regime, although it can survive without water for a while, but then it will not look beautiful.
For growing in containers, it is necessary to buy soil with a moderate amount of humus, otherwise the plant will lose some of its distinguishing characteristics (for example, red leaves). The advantage of this type of planting is that in case of too much exposure to the sun, shade or wind, it is easy to move the plant to a better place in the garden, house or on the balcony.
We distinguish four ways of growing bonsai, namely bonsai from seeds, transplanting a tree from nature into a bonsai container, bonsai from seedlings and buying ready-made bonsai. The most long-lasting way is growing from seeds, because it takes a lot of effort to arrange the plant and even ten years for it to take on the appearance of a bonsai tree.
The easiest way to grow is to buy a ready-made bonsai or a plant that you will prune and arrange according to your taste. However, when you buy a ready-made plant, you need to pay attention to the fact that it is grafted, which can be recognized by the oblique wound from the cut on the stem (3 to 5 centimeters long). Namely, the grafted Japanese maple guarantees red leaves throughout its lifetime, while with seed maples there may be variations in the color of the leaves.
In addition to the ways of growing bonsai, there are also differences in the places where bonsai grows, namely backyard and home bonsai. A home bonsai is indoors and it may happen that it does not succeed because of such an environment, while a backyard bonsai certainly succeeds in growing into a healthy and high-quality plant.
In cases of transplanting, the recommendation is every three years (if it is in the garden), that is, every year (if it is in a pot or container). In April, it is necessary to add slow-dissolving fertilizer to the Japanese maple for better development and growth.
The Japanese maple sometimes needs pruning to prevent plant diseases, and it is recommended during the dormant period, that is, when the leaves fall. Pruning at the time of fruit budding is not suitable, and this can be recognized by the dripping of juices during the first cut. When pruning, the broken and dried twigs are first removed, and then those that are extra and that excessively thicken the interior of the crown. It is cut just above a pair of buds. After the branches start to grow again, two shoots appear, one of which can be removed again.
After pruning, it is advisable to apply a wound protection agent, i.e. fruit wax, to the cut surface. In young and grafted plants, sometimes wild shoots may appear on the substrate, which also need to be removed. While a Japanese maple planted in the garden should not be pruned until necessary, a Japanese maple planted in a pot or container requires constant pruning from May to September.
Diseases and pests
From diseases, this plant is attacked by powdery mildew (which destroys the beautiful appearance of the tree, but it can be easily cured with fungicides), tracheomycosis (which causes the plant to die, and in order to cure it, it is necessary to remove the infected parts in the beginning and further to take more care and take care of the plant) and anthracosis (which causes red and brown spots on young leaves and fungus on shoots which can be cured by removing these shoots and fungicides).
It is interesting that there are no occurrences of any dangerous pests, except for possible aphids, mites, vine weevils, thrips and leaf miners, which almost never cause any major and serious problems.
History
The Japanese maple originates from the areas of Japan, Korea, China and parts of Northeast Asia where it is known as a wild plant. When it spread around the world, it took on the characteristics of an ornamental tree planted in parks and containers.
In the areas where it originates, this tree symbolized intelligence, while today when it is mentioned, many think only of the Japanese maple as a decorative plant, as something beautiful and attractive. Japan is also known for cultivating this species mostly from 1603 to 1867. From that period, there are written records that speak of as many as 200 cultivated species that the Japanese planted in their immediate environment and admired during their sightseeing.
To this day, many cultivated species from that time have been lost due to the world wars that forced the Japanese to cut down those trees in order to have something to keep warm in those difficult times.
Also, many cultivated species have been lost due to inaccurate English translations of Japanese poetic terms for this species. In America and Europe, Japanese names were often mispronounced or written down, which led to false memory, and sometimes these names were deliberately changed to make them easier to sell to potential buyers.
Today, the most famous Japanese maple is Acer Palmatum.
Author: BP, Photo: Leoleobeo/Pixabay