Planting Instructions for your Maple

Water your tree when you first get it home and place it in a shaded area for a few days.

The best time to plant your tree is when it is dormant (no leaves on it) during the late fall or winter months. You may also plant your tree during spring or fall when it is not too hot outside. Never plant your tree in the summer or during the middle of a hot day- wait until the morning or evening hours.

Until then, keep your tree in the bag it came in and place it in your yard where you intend to plant it. This will allow you to test the spot to see if it will do well with the amount of sunlight it gets there. Water it twice weekly in the summer if needed, but do not over-water. The roots prefer to be moist, not wet, with a drying out phase in between watering. Your tree will not become root-bound while in the bag, but the roots may actually grow through the bottom of it.

Ready to plant? Dig out a “bowl” of dirt at least twice the size of the bag your tree came in and replace it with slightly acidic, well draining soil if it is not already present. Clay soil does not easily allow water to drain away from your maple. You may want to dig out a bigger “bowl” with additional well draining soil added to it if you are worried about this. We do not recommend planting in a low-lying area where water collects, but if this is a concern, we advise creating a mound of soil in which to plant your tree at the top of so that water flows down and away from the roots.

To remove your tree from the bag: Make a slit on both sides of the bag with a razor blade and use the handles of the bag to pull down the sides if you do not have a transplanter bag that has velcro down one side. Disturbing the roots as little as possible, remove the tree from the bag and place it in your bowl of soil.

Identify the root flare/root base where the roots start growing horizontally out from the base of the trunk. Make sure the root base of a young tree is placed slightly underneath the soil by an inch or so- Japanese maples do NOT like to be planted deep in the ground. If your tree is more mature and has the formation of a “claw” at the root base, you may leave it exposed/ above ground.

Do not allow mulch or soil to come into contact with the tree trunk. One inch away is fine.

Do not place rocks on top of the roots of the tree, they will collect too much heat in the summer and may burn the roots through the soil.

Plant in an area where there is at least 4-5 hours of sunlight per day, preferably morning sun, providing shade during the hottest part of the day.

Make sure to allow enough space for your tree to grow. Do not plant trees too close to other trees or the walls of your home. The roots of a Japanese maple tree will grow as wide as the canopy of the tree. For example: If your tree grows to be 20 feet tall, the canopy (or width) will probably get at least 15 feet wide, so plant it at least 8 feet away from any walls or other trees. If it will get 10 feet wide, plant it at least 5-6 feet away from any wall or vertical barrier.