How should I plant this Seiryu JM? HELP!

11 years ago

I bought a Seiryu JM. It's got a nice airy feel to it, and I like the way it looks....."IF" I take the pot it's in (as seen in photo) and angle the actual pot, giving the tree a straighter feel. It doesn't look bad in this photo bc of the angle, but at certain views, the tree is really growing crooked. Like the leader just kind of veers to one side, leaving the tree very assymetrical. I guess my options are, when planting it, just angle the rootball so that the "Y" is more straight up? In otherwords, plant it, but angle it so that it looks more symmetrical. Of course doing this, would mean the very bottom most portion of the trunk wouldn't be 100% verticle coming out of the ground. Does this matter? ........OR do I plant it as is, put a stake in the middle, and tie it to a branch, so that the tree curves back to the middle? Upon releasing the stake in a year or two, would the tree just bend right back? What do you all suggest? See photo below. Again, this photo doesn't make it seem extreme, but at certain viewing angles, the tree REALLY veers off to one side Thanks!

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

11 years ago

One of the more appealing features of most Japanese maples is their very sculptural growth habit. They are often quite open and asymmetrical in form with loosely curving trunks and branches. It is hard to appreciate this when they are young but adds substantially to their character as they age. IOW, they are not very 'precise' trees with a clear, straight trunk, evenly spaced branches and a symmetrical canopy. If that's what you want then maybe a JM is not the right plant for you.

I definitely would not stake and wouldn't even bother to tilt the rootball at planting to achieve a more vertical form. Site it in the planting hole evenly but with the smaller, less symmetrical side so that it receives the most direct light. This will encourage more growth on that side, balancing things out a bit But let the lean of the major stem do its own thing. You will really appreciate that 15 years down the road :-)

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Comments (7)

jalcon
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Thanks for the response. I know that part of what makes Japanese Maples awesome is their natural tendacy to grow against the norm, and the many curves and what not in their trunks, especially as they thicken over time....however I guess I'd like the best of both worlds lol. Is their a "problem" tilting the rootball to achieve a more verticle form? Maybe I'll meet in the middle, because even tilting the rootball some, it's still going to veer to the one side quite a bit, which is OK with me, would just prefer it not be SO extreme like it would be if I just put the plant in the hole as is.

Staking sounds like definetly a no go? Thanks.
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jalcon
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Like, could I do something like this? Will it hurt anything?

Right now it looks like "A" in its pot....can I put it in the ground so it looks like "B"?
dbarron
11 years ago
And tilting the rootball will give you wind displacement issues...
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years ago
You could follow plan B if you wanted to but I personally don't think it is necessary. And I dislike staking trees at all, especially JM's. I remove the stakes from mine as soon as I get them home.

Can I ask why you bought this particular tree if its current growth habit bothers you?
jalcon
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks. Haha....well..it was the only one left. Looks very healthy. Don't see alot of Seiryu around here. It was 79.99 which, I didn't think was bad for a 6'-7' tree
magpiepix 5b/6a
11 years ago
I would give it a couple of years to balance itself out. If you want to you could always trim the taller side of the tree while letting the other side catch up and fill out, but I'm guessing the tree will look very different in 2-3 years if left on its own.