On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:57:42 +0100
Zarch wrote:
Well i've been a purchased the Osakazuki i showed you in the picture, it
was too nice a plant to turn down.
I am a little confused though. Emery above says not to plant the tree
now. Whereas i asked the guy at the garden centre out of curiosity and
he said to get it in the ground now. Dig a whole twice as big, both
width and depth as the current pot its in and mix in some ericaceous
compost with the existing soil. Soak the plant for 10 mins before
planting and then water again once in.
Confused? I am!
Any clarification as what to do next would be very much appreciated.
Been out of town, just catching up.
The only reason to plant the Osakazuki (nice tree, much less tricky than Sango
kaku BTW) now is if it's a 2 year or less graft and still in original medium. In
which case it needs to get into the ground asap. But this is unlikely, so otherwise
you should wait until the plant is dormant.
Replying to a couple of other points brought up in the thread. Klara, if the stripped
bark rings the tree so that the cambium is broken, everything above that point
will die. You might as well cut it back now, and start pruning for basic shape
next year. This is better than starting again because your maple is already somewhat
established, which is the hard part. If 90 degrees or more of cambium remains at
any place my experience is that the tree might recover. Use a sharp pruning knife
to clean up the wounds, and then _do not_ at all costs treat or fertilize. Do your
best to keep the area dry. The only reason to start over will be if the damage is
below the original graft, in which case you have just the root stock. (Which will
be nice but will also grow into a large tree!)
Whoever said that you should use the smallest plant possible doesn't have much
experience growing maples, I fear. While this is true for many plants, it is very
difficult to establish young grafts of A. palmatum directly in the garden. This is
common knowledge in the maple world.
-E
--
Emery Davis
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