Gardeners urged not to add one item to maple trees as 'kill' them
Japanese maples have become a firm favourite among gardeners, but there are some important care tips that owners should be aware of to keep the trees looking their best
Japanese maples, cherished for their stunning red, weeping, lacy foliage, are a favourite among green-fingered hobbyists. Keeping these delicate trees thriving involves some crucial care guidance.
Gardening expert Mike McGroarty from Mike's Backyard Nursery warns that using fertiliser on Japanese maples can be harmful—sometimes even deadly. He advises against it, claiming: "Garden fertilisers are a significant issue as they will kill Japanese maples and other plants.
"It's true. The typical garden fertiliser that you buy for your veggie garden will take out ornamental plants like nobody's business."
Urging caution with common fertilisers, he adds: "If you plan to use regular garden fertiliser on your Japanese maple you might as well write 'serial killer' on the bag."
Mike goes into details about why garden fertilisers pose a risk, elaborating: "A bag of 14-14-14 garden fertiliser contains 14 perc ent nitrogen, 14 percent phosphorus and 14 per cent potassium, reports the Express.
"As soon as you apply it and it gets wet all 14 per cent of that nitrogen is released immediately."
Delving into the perils of too much nitrogen for plants, an expert voiced concerns stating that "nitrogen drives top growth, vegetative growth, on plants" and highlighted the risk to most ornamental plants which are unable to handle the surplus, cautioning that "the overload of nitrogen will kill them almost immediately".
Gardening expert Mark Bennett from Gardener Report sounded the alarm over the risks of saturating Japanese maples with fertiliser, remarking: "Japanese maples are not heavy feeders and they do not require additional fertiliser if they are planted in good soil, amended with compost."
He further underscored the potential damage of over-fertilisation by flagging up leaf scorch, saying: "Too much fertiliser is also a cause of leaf scorch with brown or yellowing leaves and excess growth with soft stems that can droop."
In cases where fertilisation might be unavoidable, such as for maples in containers or poor soil, Mark advised: "The only time fertiliser is necessary when growing Japanese maples is if they are planted in a pot or sandy soil.
"But if this is the case, gardeners should only use half-strength multi-purpose fertiliser."
When choosing the ideal fertiliser, Mike insisted that organic material is superior to traditional fertilisers, explaining: "What a Japanese maple really needs is good, rich soil that contains a significant amount of organic matter.
"Really good topsoil is just that, organic matter.
"That's what made it topsoil. For years and years, vegetation falls to the earth and rots and becomes topsoil.
"That's what all plants, especially Japanese maples, need."
For keen gardeners facing poor soil quality, one expert suggests upping your game by mixing fertilisers with an organic substance like fish emulsion fertiliser Millorganite or another variety of organic fertiliser.