Japanese maples and the hot weather

[Yamadori]

Hi all, if you have a Japanese maple in a pot in your garden and are able to move it into the shade for a few days, then it will thank you. It will also really help if you can stand the pot in water - deep saucer, washing-up bowl, whatever.

As well as preventing the soil from drying out, the water will increase humidity around the plant.

This applies particularly to acers, but most other plants in pots will benefit too.

Thanks so much, I have one in a pot and I love it but pretty clueless on what it needs, that is so helpful.

Thank you I have two who are struggling

Sadly pots too heavy to lift or move though

Any other tips?

Other tips?

If the pot is too heavy to move, stand a large container of water right beside it, to increase the humidity around the plant. You can always try to shade the pot itself, especially if it is a dark colour or made of terracotta. That will help to keep the roots cool.

Also - massive myth-buster here. Getting water on leaves DOES NOT cause leaf damage. Dryness at the roots, wind and/or the inability of the plant to provide sufficient moisture to the leaves does that. Anything at all that will help increase humidity is good, so water the whole thing, leaves and all.

Mine are also too heavy to move or to keep a saucer of water under their pot.
Would it help to screen them when the sun is blazing, I was thinking clothes horse draped with wet towels.
I want to protect them as best I can.

What about acers in the ground? Will they be ok?

Do you have any advice for a miserable looking potted olive tree?

Following as I've got a gorgeous massive one in the ground. It's had some die back the last few years, which we've cut off and is doing well this year, but I worry it will be I happy in the heat! Will give it a good water today

For acers in the ground, the container of water trick helps with them too, as does giving the whole area around the tree a prolonged soaking. Not just beside the tree but for at least a metre all around it too. If the surface of the soil dries out, then damp it down with a spray of water. Humidity is the key.

Don't worry if a lot of the leaves get scorched anyway; as long as the roots are protected from drying out, the tree can grow some more. That is what happens in nature anyway, when a deciduous tree loses its leaves for whatever reason.

@MrsBwced Just keep the olive watered, and it might be worth giving it a dose of vine weevil killer, just in case there are any grubs in the pot. Then give it some general-purpose liquid fertiliser every couple of weeks until the middle of September. If it has gone a bit yellow, then some sequestered iron or seaweed feed could help with that.

Don't go mad with feeding though, as a sickly tree can come to more harm than good if fertilised too much.

Any kind of shading will be good, as is anything already mentioned to increase humidity and reduce evaporation from the leaves.

Thank you for the advice @Yamadori

I've got a potted acer and a potted olive - so thank you so much for these tips.

I've put DD14 in charge of giving the birds water each day, so she can also make sure the water container next to the acer is kept topped up.

Thank you for starting this thread. Love my acers but they can be fickle sometimes & don't want to lose them 🤗

The thing to remember is that the summer climate in the UK is different from that in Japan, where summers are more humid/wet than we have here.

As long as we can stop them from drying out, then they will manage to cope.

I am going to stick long canes down the front sun facing side of my large tubs and hang lightweight fleece from them to shade them and tub from hot sun - I find once tubs go over due to baking sun there's no saving them so hope to avoid that ( won't work too well if it's windy)

......these are annuals I'm protecting

These are great tips! I've tried growing acers in pots and have always failed, any tips for that?

Thank you. We have several small acers in pots that are in shade until teatime. And one that is out in full sun with a couple of olives. All look happy at present but I will move the acer into the shade.

Thanks for this my leaves are dry and scorched. Is there anything I can do?

Keep well watered, and cut any dead leaves off, leaving the leaf stalks intact so as not to damage the bud where it joins the stem. You can completely defoliate if necessary. Any later in the year and this won't work, but right now you can just about get away with it. As long as the branches are alive, after a couple of weeks the tree will start to produce a new canopy of leaves from the latent buds at the base of the leaf stalks.

Keep moist and in dappled shade, particularly in the afternoons, and they don't like the wind either.

As I previously mentioned, our climate is different from Japan. Japanese maples don't like to be waterlogged in the winter or parched in the summer. If they are in the ground, then they have some protection from the elements, but in a pot you have to give them a helping hand.

Also, if you are in a hard water area, give them an ericaceous feed once a year, or top dress with ericaceous compost in spring.

Are there any hosepipe bans? How about placing a sprinkler near the, even if it's just during the worst of the heat or draping the plant with a light coloured wet towel.

No hosepipe bans around here at the moment, but I think a wet towel would be far too heavy draped over a maple. You could probably wrap it round the pot though.

Can I put the kids bath water on it? Trying to be environmentally conscious

I probably wouldn't water expensive plants in pots with it, but you can use it on flower beds and the lawn.

We always let the water in our kitchen washing-up bowl go cold and then chuck it on the grass out front.

I have put some canes in the tubs and strung wet sheets over them. Not providing total shade but is shading the base of the trees and hopefully the sheets provide some humidity, will rewet them regularly.