Japanese Maple Budding Out

Dag936

I have a Green Japanese Maple I bought from a bonsai nursery about two weeks ago. At the nursery it was stored in a unheated greenhouse. At home, I've been storing it in a heated shed (I just try to keep the temperature about 25 f). When I bought it, its buds were swelling a little. It seems to have been duped by the warm weather; a few buds are beginning to push out some green growth. Can this fragile, new growth survive in the shed, or should I bring it indoors? I have a space in my basement that stays around 50-60 f and has a grow lamp and good air circulation. Would this be more suitable? Thanks a lot.

-Billy

*sorry about the blurriness in some of the pictures, I hope they're clear enough that you can tell what's going on*

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Adrian_Moss

I, myself, am in a similar situation, where i just bought a jap. red maple (not as mature as your green maple) that has started to start it's new spring growth. Thus far i have repotted it in a large plastic growing pot, i try to keep the temp. in the 70's and have begun feeding it miracid 30-10-10. The bud have opened fully and are starting to put on leaves. I plan to keep up as usual, so far so good. I tell you this not to answer your question but to share my experience and thus far things look good maybe the same will be true for you. If anyone reads this and have further input...please share!

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tuckerg

as long as the trees are getting somelight,they will be ok in the shed for a few weeks,until the temp outside rises enough.

Carl_Bergstrom

I have approximately 50 potted Acer palmatum cultivars, mostly as ornamental trees, a few as bonsai.

Here in Seattle, we have a similar problem - weeks of warm weather that bring the buds out followed by weeks of freezing temperatures (but rarely colder than say 24 degrees F). My approach is simply to not worry about it. I leave the trees outside, in an unheated cold frame, and let them do their own thing. They've always done fine. The only reason I might deviate from this is if I had a tree that had been kept elsewhere and had completely leafed out everywhere - but your tree looks like it would be fine in any sort of unheated windbreak.

Best regards,
Carl

Dav4

Your tree is budding out and, therefore, breaking dormancy. It is now much more sensitive to freezing temps. Here in Massachusetts, we have 4-6 weeks left of harsh winter weather, and 3 more months of potential frost. In fact, the temps tonight will approach 0 F by morning and not exceed the teens tomorrow. Having said that, the buds are probably able to withstand frost to some extent, but the rootball can't be allowed to freeze solid or risk serious damage to the root system. My recommendation would be to keep the tree as cold as possible without allowing the rootball to freeze. The cold temps will slow down the emergence from dormancy. Until the leaves open up, sunlight isn't an issue. If you can boost the temps in the shed to above freezing that would be the best bet. A 3 season porch or breezeway is another option. Good luck,

Dave

ps On sunny days, open the doors to the shed so that it doesn't trap the sun's heat and warm the inside too much.

Dag936

thanks for all the help guys i'll guess i'll just let it stay put in the shed for now. thanks again