I bought this plant a couple of years ago, and for the first year it didn't
do so well. I left it in the pot I bought it in, watered it and hoped for
the best. II now has some small leaves and it looks like it could, with the
right care, be quite promising.

However...... because of it's sorry state I tried to give it some structure
and secured the leader between two canes to try to get some strength in it.


Was this the right thing to do?

Anyway, the leader is going quite tall in the time that I have had it but
the leaves are quite small....and basically it lacks the general appeal of
many acers.

Question: Can I cut the leader now? The plant is in a cool/shady position
for nearly all of the day.

Hello Space,

On Wed, 23 May 2007 14:28:22 +0100
"Space" wrote:

I bought this plant a couple of years ago, and for the first year it didn't
do so well. I left it in the pot I bought it in, watered it and hoped for
the best. II now has some small leaves and it looks like it could, with the
right care, be quite promising.

However...... because of it's sorry state I tried to give it some structure
and secured the leader between two canes to try to get some strength in it.


Was this the right thing to do?

Anyway, the leader is going quite tall in the time that I have had it but
the leaves are quite small....and basically it lacks the general appeal of
many acers.


It is not the same species as what are widely referred to as "Acers" in the
UK. This is Acer negundo 'Flamingo', many people use Acer generically to
A. palmatum and cultivars.

Still this will be a beautiful tree (large tree if you don't top prune or root prune).

Question: Can I cut the leader now? The plant is in a cool/shady position
for nearly all of the day.


You can, but better to wait for dormancy or very early spring, before sap flow.

It may do better with some morning sun, if you can arrange that. That, and
perhaps root problems, may explain the small leaves.

I would re-pot this winter, with a minor root prune. This species is less sensitive
to pot size than Japanese maples, so you can go with much larger if you want.
It likes a bit of water, too.

A good way to grow this tree in a pot is to pollard at the size you want. This will
keep the variegation true and very colourful each year. In the ground this one
will quickly reach 12-15 feet, and has a tendency to revert to green.

Oh, don't overfeed either, too much nitrogen may trigger reversion also. Cut out
any green branches immediately.

HTH

-E
--
Emery Davis
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