Acer palmatum 'Satsuki beni'

Like with other plants that are shipped bare root, you should plant your tree as soon as possible. When planting be sure to spread the roots out a little so they are not clumped together at the bottom of the hole. Japanese Maples want the top of their root crown to be covered with just an inch of soil - be careful not to apply heavy mulch directly on top of the roots as this can suffocate them. Water heavily as soon as you plant your tree but after that be careful not to overwater this beautiful specimen - Japanese Maples prefer long but less frequent watering. During the growing season we water our established trees for two hours once per week, depending on the climate and how hot/dry the weather is (maybe a little more frequently during the hottest part of the year and less frequently during spring and fall when it is cooler). If you are growing your Japanese Maples in containers be sure to use a well-drained soil mix (not peat or compost based, bark based soils do best) and water whenever the soil starts to dry out.

Japanese Maples do best when fertilized in the spring, we recommend a slow release pellet like Osmocote Plus in April. Don't apply fertilizer later than mid-June because it will encourage too much late season growth that will not have time to harden off enough for winter. The exact formula doesn't matter too much, we usually use 15-10-10 but any other works fine for Japanese Maples. Osmocote is the brand we use because it releases steadily for several months and so there is very little risk of over-fertilizing your plants.