With summer arriving here in my little garden in japan the temperature is increasing noticeably. For most of the plants the extra heat is great, but for some the hot weather means stress, and that can lead to diseases or other problems. Maple trees usually thrive in the warm temperatures of Tokyo's summer, but, because my little maple tree pot was growing four different trees, I was worried the heat would be too much for them. Last year they got sick and I almost got no show for the autumn. So, to give them a better chance, I decided to split them.
My initial plan last year was to choose the prettiest one after autumn and just cut away all the others, but when the time came I had no heart to kill the rest of the plants, and so they keep on growing. I should had split them in early spring, when they where on they dormant state and before they sprouted back to life, but out of procrastination I didn't. When spring came they all got new leaves and the pot started to be a bit overcrowded. Something had to be done but I didn't want to kill anyone.
Finally, last month I took some time to split the maple tree planter and put each plant into its own. I had to wait until then for the spring sprouts to gain strength to avoid hurting the plant even more, but of course that also meant I would had to deal with more tangled roots at the time of separating them. It was a risk either way.
I opened up the pot and dealt with the mesh of tangled roots. They had grown very close together, to the point it was very hard to know where one tree started and the other one ended. It took me a while and I had to snip away a couple of roots, but I was able to split them apart. After the transplant the trees got a bit stunned and stopped growing, luckily seems that the worst was just a couple scorched leaves.
Now I am sure they will do very well this summer, and I wont have to worry about them getting sick or dry. The only thing is that I have no idea what will I do with four trees in such a small balcony. Maybe I will turn a couple into bonsai, I have always wanted a maple bonsai.
So, while everything ended up ok, my gardening lesson of the day was to avoid procrastination (seems to be a lesson I keep trying to learn). I could have avoided loosing half a year of growth and those scorched leaves if I had done the transplants in early spring. But well, that is gardening, you learn every day.
The maple pot was getting a bit crowded
My initial plan last year was to choose the prettiest one after autumn and just cut away all the others, but when the time came I had no heart to kill the rest of the plants, and so they keep on growing. I should had split them in early spring, when they where on they dormant state and before they sprouted back to life, but out of procrastination I didn't. When spring came they all got new leaves and the pot started to be a bit overcrowded. Something had to be done but I didn't want to kill anyone.
They were four maples growing in that pot
Finally, last month I took some time to split the maple tree planter and put each plant into its own. I had to wait until then for the spring sprouts to gain strength to avoid hurting the plant even more, but of course that also meant I would had to deal with more tangled roots at the time of separating them. It was a risk either way.
It was a mesh of tangled roots
I opened up the pot and dealt with the mesh of tangled roots. They had grown very close together, to the point it was very hard to know where one tree started and the other one ended. It took me a while and I had to snip away a couple of roots, but I was able to split them apart. After the transplant the trees got a bit stunned and stopped growing, luckily seems that the worst was just a couple scorched leaves.
These are my favorites, they looks great in autumn
Now I am sure they will do very well this summer, and I wont have to worry about them getting sick or dry. The only thing is that I have no idea what will I do with four trees in such a small balcony. Maybe I will turn a couple into bonsai, I have always wanted a maple bonsai.
Only a couple of scorched leaves to regret
So, while everything ended up ok, my gardening lesson of the day was to avoid procrastination (seems to be a lesson I keep trying to learn). I could have avoided loosing half a year of growth and those scorched leaves if I had done the transplants in early spring. But well, that is gardening, you learn every day.
