In article , Klara
wrote:

In message , Emery Davis
writes
You know it won't grow in chalk. Otherwise not too picky about soil,
although prefers slightly acidic. Don't use much soil amendment in
heavy soil, it causes drainage problems. If you're in heavy clay, the
best bet is to build up on top of the soil, if you want to keep the
tree small (bear in mind Sango kaku is a 12 foot tree). Otherwise you
can certainly grow A. palmatum in clay, but very tough to establish.

Don't fertilize beyond a little bone meal, you can do a little osmocote
the second year.

Good luck. Even experienced maple growers kill scads of these (and
Sango kaku is pretty tricky) so "If at first you don't succeed..."

We were given one for our coral anniversary a couple of years ago, and
in our ignorance have been really successful with it - so far. But I
have just gone out to have a closer look, and most of the bark has been
stripped from it at a level that makes me suspect our cat! Any ideas how
I can bandage it to help it to heal and at the same time keep the cat
from further damaging it?

Rabbits love sweet young bark and have been the certain cause of young
saplings of mine being stripped back to bare wood from approx 18in high
down to ground level. A low coil of chicken wire should provide
protection.