2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Japanese maple (lat. Acer japonicum) - perennial deciduous shrub or tree of the Maple genus of the Sapindaceae family. Plants are found naturally in the mountain forests of Japan and South Korea. In Russia, representatives of the species grow in the Sakhalin region.
Characteristics of culture
Japanese maple is a shrub or tree up to 10 m high with reddish-gray branches and smooth gray bark, which does not crack with age, like many representatives of the Maple genus. Leaves are opposite, rounded, dissected, up to 15 cm long, serrate at the edges, can be seven, nine and eleven-lobed. With the onset of autumn, the foliage acquires unusually bright and rich shades (burgundy, purple, pink, orange-scarlet, etc.).
The flowers of the Japanese maple are violet-red, fragrant, collected in drooping corymbose inflorescences. The culture blooms in April (before the leaves appear). The fruit is a pubescent lionfish, up to 3 cm long. Currently, several subspecies have been distinguished, differing from each other in the degree of pubescence and in the shape of leaves and fruits, and these differences are insignificant.
Growing conditions
The choice of a site for growing Japanese maple plays an important role, because the correct location allows you to grow healthy shrubs and trees with an elegant crown. Japanese maple prefers well-lit places, protected from direct sunlight at midday. Negatively, the culture refers to areas that are not protected from cold winds and drafts. Soils can be any, except swampy, highly alkaline, compacted and waterlogged.
Reproduction and planting
Cultivars of the Japanese maple are propagated by seeds and grafting on the palm-shaped maple. Seeds are sown in autumn or spring with preliminary stratification lasting about 120 days at a temperature of 5C. You can also stratify seeds in the refrigerator, but always in a container filled with wet sand. Spring sowing is carried out in April-May (depending on climatic conditions). Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water for three days and, with the appearance of sprouts, are planted in the ground.
The site for the culture is carefully dug up, peat, humus and sand are introduced. The seeding depth is 3-4 cm. After sowing, the ridges are watered abundantly. Seedlings appear on the 14-20th day. Under optimal growing conditions, young plants reach a height of 30-40 cm. Maple is planted in a permanent place after 1-3 years. The planting pit is prepared in advance, its width should be 50 cm and the depth 70 cm. Compost or humus mixed with fertile soil is additionally introduced into the pit. It is recommended to plant seedlings together with a clod of earth, since the roots of the plants are very brittle. After planting, the plants are watered abundantly at the root and mulched.
Care
Care consists in watering, removing weeds, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers and lightly loosening the soil in the near-trunk zone. Watering is very important, with a lack of moisture, the tips of the maple branches dry out, and the leaves turn yellow and fall off. For the winter, the plants are covered with a special non-woven material, but before that the plants are thoroughly shed. Japanese maple practically does not need pruning, although sanitary pruning will not harm the plants. Top dressing is also needed. The first feeding is carried out 3-5 weeks after planting the seedling in the ground (that is, in spring), the second - in the middle of summer. When planting in autumn, the first feeding is transferred to the spring.
Usage
Japanese maple has been very popular among gardeners for several years. It gives the garden plots a special atmosphere and solemnity. The plant is excellent for creating autogenous, because in the autumn period it shines with bright and rich foliage. The culture is also suitable for the formation of bonsai. Harmoniously Japanese maples look in rockeries, rock gardens, mixborders and borders.
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