Usually when I buy plants for the garden I buy smaller 1 gallon pots and wait (sometimes for years) for the trees grow up. But occasionally, I want something that has a more immediate impact. I recently splurged $200 on a 7 foot tall ‘Sango Kaku’ Japanese Maple (also known as the Coral Bark Maple). … Read more
Fall is the perfect time to start preparing tree and shrub seeds that need a period of cold weather before they’ll sprout. When seed starting tree and shrub seeds I use two techniques that help to trigger better germination rates. The first technique is simply soaking the seeds. The second process is called stratification and … Read more
While the weather outside resembles that of the arctic I spent a few minutes starting Japanese maple seeds. I had two varieties of tree that I saved seed from this fall, ‘Sango Kaku’ and ‘Bloodgood’ (Acer palmatum). Both types of Japanese maples are fairly common and can make good root stock for other, more unique … Read more
First let me apologize for not writing much lately. Life has been busy and I haven’t been able to get into the garden as much. Things are winding down for the cold season fortunately and while there is still much to do in the garden it always seems more manageable when the weeds are no … Read more
I love a nice Japanese maple! Who doesn’t? There are Japanese maples with variegated leaves, ones with deep burgundy colors, others with interesting shaped leaves that are highly dissected and many other kinds. The fall color on a Japanese is almost always guaranteed to be something special. Their highly ornamental nature makes them very popular trees in the … Read more
Last week I attended the Bloom N’ Garden Expo in Williamson County, TN. It’s a neat event held each year that offers garden speakers, display gardens, and (of course) plant vendors! I’ve been getting pickier in my plant selections over the past year or so because I want unique plants for my garden. I’m not … Read more
Our current garden is still a work in progress, as every garden will ever be, but sometimes I like to think about what my next garden will be like. We have no immediate plans to move but one day our growing family will need more room in the house (and with two girls probably more … Read more
Of all the fall colors I’ve seen this year the Japanese maples seem to have topped all other trees. This Japanese maple at my mom’s house was figuratively on fire with red foliage lighting up the scenery. I didn’t have my camera with me when it was at its peak but even past peak it’s … Read more
Yesterday would have been my father’s 68th birthday. He was a Halloween baby born back in 1943 but since July 6th, 2011 we’ve been without my dad. I think about him in some way everyday and I definitely don’t need anything to remind me of how much he helped me through life, but to honor … Read more
Last year I told you about the Japanese maples that grew naturally from underneath a tree at my parent’s house. I over wintered young trees in my garden shed (see the April Video update) and have been taking care of them here in our garden. The other day I transferred the Japanese maple seedlings from … Read more
Have you been wondering for months what ever became of Dave’s Japanese maple seedlings? I bet you have…er well maybe not but I’ll show you even if you weren’t wondering all winter about my Japanese maple seedlings! In case you are wondering how to grow Japanese maples from seed the big secret is stratification. Stratification … Read more