You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em
I don’t buy lottery tickets and I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but when it comes to plants you could say I’m a gambler. I’ll take a chance on anything. Even if there’s only a hint of life left in a garden centre reject, I’ll give it every opportunity to show me it doesn’t belong on the compost heap.
Once a new plant has made it through the first winter, I expect it to stick around. This especially applies to new trees and shrubs. By giving them a place in good soil with enough water and just the right amount of sunshine I’m usually confident they’ll do fine; however, I don’t feel quite as assured of success with anything that is borderline hardy in my garden.
The small Japanese maple I planted in the spring of 2018 seemed happy enough and it put on new growth right away. I was a little nervous about its first winter, but since I’d planted it in a sheltered corner, the odds were good, and the little guy looked to be firmly established. I fully expected it to successfully handle a second winter, especially a relatively mild one like the last one, but alas, it wasn’t to be.
As the garden came back to life this year, I began to get worried when I didn’t see any hint of swelling buds on the maple.
It’s just a little slow, I told myself as once more as I scratched at the bark to see if it revealed any green beneath. Greenish, I thought, but no. If there was any green it soon faded to brown and I had to admit last week that it was over, and a yard waste bag would be its shroud.
This wasn’t my first failure with a Japanese maple as I’ve lost a couple over the years. I say it’s because my garden is on the windy west side of Waterloo (that’s my excuse).
I do have one Japanese maple with soft, dreamy foliage growing successfully by the pond, and I see many lovely specimens around town. Like any plant rated as hardy to our Zone 5, this is the limit of their growing range and without some form of winter protection, they don’t excel as they do in more temperate climates.
Still, they are hard to resist and my urge to gamble again didn’t leave with the yard waste.
I now have another one and I’m taking a different approach. Instead of in the garden, I’m growing this one in a goodsized planter. Growing trees or shrubs this way is a better approach for any that aren’t quite tough enough for winter or even ones that are. It doesn’t work for all types of trees, but Japanese maples and many evergreens, especially dwarf ones, are well suited to it. I’ve had a small cypress in the same pot for a few years now.
When growing a tree in a planter, it’s best to select ones that are suited to the climate and provide soil that drains well. Come winter, extra precautions are needed. Even if the tree is normally hardy enough to spend the winter outdoors, the roots will still need to be protected to avoid the freezing and thawing of the soil. This is best achieved by sinking the pot into the ground, otherwise, it should be stored in a shed or garage where it can go dormant.
If the tree isn’t a hardy species, it will have to be in a frost-free place.
My new maple will be going into cool storage this winter, that is, in my nonfreezing garage that has never housed a car. I’m not gambling with this one.
To chat with local gardeners, share tips and pics see Grand Gardeners on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/ Grandgardeners/