Oaktree garden Centre

Plant Guide,

Choosing Plants

We grow as many of our own plants as possible so we know that they are used to local conditions and well grown. This also means that we always have experienced knowledgeable staff on hand to help with any questions you may have.

The vast majority of shrubs, conifers, trees and perennials we sell are fully hardy and can be planted at any time of year. The best time to plant a hardy plant is in autumn and winter so that the roots are well established before summer. However as long as you are able to water regularly until established spring and summer planting is fine. Avoid planting in waterlogged or deeply frozen soil.

Choose well, if your shrub is suited to the site and soil it is likely to thrive. If you need any help finding the plant with the characteristics you are looking for that will be happy in your garden please ask us.

Size

We grow plants on sometimes for many years re-potting and trimming regularly to give you the choice of having an instant garden or watching it grow. By growing on site we can offer a larger range at very competitive prices saving the cost of transporting stock often from abroad.

Japanese maples

The term Japanese Acer or Maple refers to varieties of Acer Palmatum, Japonicum and Shirasawanum. These are a large group of very ornamental shrubs and small trees. In spring many have delicate new foliage in a range of red and pink shades, during summer we can have soft yellow, green or red to purple foliage and autumn brings a spectacular show of reds, oranges and yellows. Very few plants give us such a long lasting, ever changing and attractive show.

Difficult to grow?

No, the secret is that they must have a well drained root run and not dry right out in the summer, if your soil is very wet and heavy either grow in containers or in a raised bed. They prefer an acidic soil but will grow well in neutral to slightly alkaline conditions provided that they have drainage and moisture.

Choosing

If the name starts with Acer Palmatum Dissectum the foliage will be fine and deeply dissected and they will grow into a mushroom shaped bush. We train the plants up a cane when young to get the height to show off the weeping habit. A. Palmatum Dissectum Seiryu is the exception with an upright habit. Others develop into medium to large sized shrubs or small trees depending on variety. Both groups come in a wide range of varieties with different foliage colours changing with the season.

Site

In a sheltered garden this should be no problem, most will tolerate full sun if sheltered or more open to wind if in a little shade. A combination of full sun and a windy site tends to cause scorching round the edges of the leaves in summer so spoiling the look of the plant. If they were to dry out in this sort of location the damage would be much worse. The ideal is dappled shade and well drained but moist soil. In a container the position can be varied to protect in hot summer conditions.

Planting

Having chosen the variety and site it is well worth planting carefully, these are long lived plants which will reward you for very many years. Dig out a little deeper than needed, break up any hard soil underneath and mix in some ericaceous compost. If drainage is poor work in plenty of coarse grit or sharp sand.

The hole needs to be much wider than the root ball and mix in lots of ericaceous compost. The roots should not need teasing out as we pot on regularly, try to finish with the depth as in the pot or on a slight mound if heavy wet soil.

Pruning

If you are happy with the shape and size of your acer they need not be pruned but it is worth checking for and removing any dead wood once or twice a year. A light prune in late spring or summer is best if needed to keep in shape.

Containers

Acers are very good subjects for pots, they look good all year round with bark colour and shape even when the leaf has dropped in winter. Dissectums in particular are shown of very well by the extra height from a pot. Only pot on a little at a time so that they will get the benefit of fresh compost every couple of years when young. Use John Innes ericaceous compost and ensure that the drainage holes are clear. When not re-potting scrape out some old compost every spring and put in some fresh with a feed, Osmocote slow release or Vitax done a couple of times will work well or liquid feed more regularly. Avoid watering over the foliage especially on sunny days as this can scorch the leaves.

We cannot recommend these wonderful foliage plants too highly and specialise in them. We always have a very wide range of varieties and sizes all of which we grow here at Oaktree. Please ask if you have any questions on acers or anything else we may be able to help with.

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