A Gift of Japanese Maple Trees
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we love Japanese maples.
Earlier this week, my friend interior designer Steven Gambrel called me up and told me he was redoing the landscaping around his home and had three mature Japanese maples he no longer needed. He asked if I would be interested in taking them and of course, I said yes. My outdoor grounds crew, gardener, and I picked them up right away - 12 to 15 foot trees already dug up and waiting to be transported. Few trees are as beautiful as the Japanese maple. With more than a thousand varieties and cultivars including hybrids, the iconic Japanese maple tree is among the most versatile small trees for use in the garden. It's a big task to plant the heavy specimens, but I knew exactly where the first one would go, and it looks terrific.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- I was so happy I could transplant these Japanese maples here at my farm. They will look beautiful wherever they are planted. Japanese maples are native to areas of Japan, Korea, China, and Russia. In Japan, the maple is called the “autumn welcoming tree” and is planted in the western portion of gardens – the direction from which fall arrives there.
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- Steven lives nearby, so we were able to carefully drive our dump truck over to get them – one by one.
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- I decided to plant one of them across from my long pergola and behind my gym building not far from this grove of young Stewartia trees and my stand of bald cypress. Look closely – I placed a garden marker right where the tree would be planted. The best location for Japanese maples is a sunny spot with afternoon shade. Red and variegated leaves need relief from the hot afternoon sun but need the light to attain full color. This area is perfect.
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- Next, plywood boards are placed from the carriage road to the new tree location to protect the lawn below during the planting process.
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- Meanwhile, my crew foreman, Chhiring, marks where the hole will be dug. The tree’s root ball is six feet in diameter and two feet deep, so the hole must be at least twice that size.
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- This is our new Kubota M62 Tractor Loader Backhoe. The M62 comes equipped with a 63 horsepower diesel engine, a front loader with 3,960 pounds of lift capacity, and a powerful backhoe, which will help with so many projects here at the farm.
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- Chhiring is a very skilled large equipment driver. Here, he carefully maneuvers the backhoe into place just above the center of the designated hole. The stabilizer legs secure the tractor, so the backhoe doesn’t cause it to tip when in use.
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- This backhoe has a maximum digging depth of about 14-feet. It saves so much labor and time during these projects.
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- As each scoop of soil is removed, it is carefully placed on a tarp and saved for backfill later.
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- Here is Pasang digging around the sides and cutting through some of the fibrous deep spreading roots of a nearby spruce.
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- Chhiring uses our trusted Hi-Lo to transport one of the trees to its new location.
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- Slowly driving over the plywood boards, Chhiring positions the tree over the newly dug hole. Pasang stands nearby to direct him.
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- And then the tree is gently lowered into the hole with the best side facing the carriage road. Once the tree is in the hole, the crew looks at it from all angles to make sure the trunk is completely straight.
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- Pasang removes the burlap and roughs up, or scarifies, the root ball to stimulate new growth.
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- And then Chhiring pours a generous amount of fertilizer over the root ball and the surrounding soil. It is very important to feed the plants and trees. I always say, “if you eat, your plants should eat.”
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- For all our new trees, we like to use Roots with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
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- Half the hole is backfilled and then watered thoroughly to remove any air pockets and to settle the soil.
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- Red-leafed cultivars are the most popular of the Japanese maples. Japanese maple leaves range from about an inch-and-a-half to four-inches long and wide with five, seven, or nine acutely pointed lobes.
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- Pasang rakes the soil, so it is spread evenly over the tree pit.
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- Next, Chhiring brings some mulch made right here at the farm. It is carried in the bucket loader of our Kubota M62 tractor.
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- A generous layer of mulch is spread over the tree pit. But remember, don’t plant it too deeply – leave it “bare to the flare.”
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- And finally, more fertilizer is spread on top of the mulch. Japanese maples grow slowly, but they can live to be more than a hundred years old. I am looking forward to seeing this tree develop and flourish. That’s one tree planted – now just two more to go! Thanks, Steven.
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