MORE TOP TIPS
■ If growing in clay soils, ensure your tree is planted at elevation, mounded up so the water drains away well.
■ Prune potted ones to shape in late February to early March, and in the ground prune in late January to early February. Tidy-prune in the growing season too, until late August.
■ After around two to three years, take potted maples out of their containers and cut, with a sharp knife, around 10 per cent off the bottom roots, then repot in the same pot or a slightly larger one with fresh compost.
■ Remove suckers from the base of the plant or they’ll take over from the main tree.
■ Japanese maples like a pH of 6.5 – slightly acidic, but fairly neutral. They will grow well in alkaline soils, but if excessively alkaline, handfuls of ericaceous compost will temper this.