Is it leafed out?

tj

It has buds that are barely open.

It should be fine outside.

tj

Agree with tj. I have a Tamukeyama Japanese Maple in z5b and it is just barely Waking. It should be fine. Don’t forget to water if dry.

debra

is it bare root or potted ...

i might put it in the garage at night ... just in case ..

its definitely not an houseplant ..

maybe my only reason is that is was 23 for me last night around here ... so my gut says.. why risk it ... since you have options ...

its stressed from shipping .. so why maybe stress it more ...

ken

Here’s a picture of some buds. You can see the trunk and the supporting piece of bamboo behind it. It’s in a pot.

Spring frosts can be a problem with Japanese maples, I'd garage it if it were mine - at this point those are shoots and not buds.

Also when you go to plant it later inspect the roots for deformities and do what you can about them - that top is now much too substantial to be needing a stake otherwise. And for that matter I don't know any reason other than rootbound stocks being used why a grafted Japanese maple should need to be staked at any point in the production sequence. Maybe to get a straighter trunk? A straightness which is something that runs counter to the natural beauty and character of the tree.

the deciding factor might be if it came from a cold house.. or outside ....

it came from your state ... so the only difference might be a cold greenhouse ... it sure didnt come from a warm one .. and good for that ...

MD ..MA.. whats the diff to most of us.. lol ...

put it on the north side of the house.. and put it in the garage if any night is going to get too cold.. and if your forgetful... just put it in the garage for a week or so ... the cold cement floor will keep it in slo motion until the temps moderate ....

just happens my front door.. which is the primary door is north facing.. so it would be right there .. and if i leave the porch light on all day .... when it gets dark i say.. what in the world did i leave that light on for.. oh yeah.. the tree is out there .. lol ...

ken

Japanese maples of all sizes are routinely staked by the growers simply for ease of transport, so they don't get smushed while being shipped.

Yet none of the branches of this example are tied in. Unless it came tied together and Rose Beginner untied it before taking the picture.

Unless it is a much larger tree, none of the branches of these are ever tied in. I've unloaded too many truckloads of these in my day and know how densely they are stacked and packed in. That is also the explanation given by the growers.

gardengal48 is correct. The tree arrived in a box that’s roughly 1 foot by 1 foot by 5 feet. Inside the box, the tree was in a #3 or #5 pot; I forget which. And there was a plastic bag around the pot, with one of those plastic straps holding the top of the bag gathered around the tree and stake, holding the soil and mulch in. The stake didn’t even go down into the mulch or soil, and I assume was just to keep the trunk supported for packaging.

This was the first time I‘ve ever ordered any thing as big as a tree mail order, and it’s been inconsistent weather the last week or so.

I’ve brought it in to the garage tonight. I ought to be able to finish getting out the dying rhody and get the tree planted tomorrow.

The stake didn’t even go down into the mulch or soil, and I assume was just to keep the trunk supported for packaging.

So why is the stake still with the tree now? Your picture implies it was inserted into the soil so as to support the trunk for an extended period of time. Which is where I was coming from.

The stake is still there because I haven’t planted it. But that’s a good point because I still have a vertical tree mentality, and I should remove the stake to see which way it leans, if any, to orient it properly when I plant it.

I see an issue (dilemma?). I wouldn't plant it out w/o bare-rooting to provide the opportunity to correct the root issues you'll inevitably find. Given that buds are breaking, that should be done immediately, like tomorrow; however, where the tree is now in terms of the spring push means it has lost most of it's cold-hardiness, so freezing temperatures could kill new leaves. Do you have a way to provide protection from freezing temps? Do you know when your "last frost" date is?

On one hand, I'd want to give the roots the once-over immediately so I'd be comfortable putting it in the ground, but on the other, I wouldn't do that if it meant the tree was going to face freezing temps. Are there any J-maples in the surrounding landscape now that are pushing the spring flush of new growth?

BTW - it won't need watering daily.

Al

@tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) Thanks for your info. I planted the tree on Friday, 3 days ago, back when the weather was hitting the 70s. The weather forecast for the next week has the lowest lows at 37°. Last frost is May 11, but I wouldn’t expect any deep frosts. The nearest other JM is right in front of the house, about 100 feet away, but with more shade and obviously the heat of the house. It’s starting to leaf out too.

I’m expecting to water the new one every other day. I haven’t killed it yet, though I do worry about deer making a visit. (I think they nipped a 2 foot high Rose of Sharon that I have nearby, with fencing intended to keep rabbits and groundhogs out. Sigh.)