What to Do with Japanese Maples in April – Prep Your Tree for a Spectacular Season
April is when Japanese maples are just waking up from their winter dormancy. Now's the time to pounce to ensure a successful year.
Ah, the magic of Japanese maples in spring! Even against a backdrop of spring-blooming bulb flowers popping out colorful heads, these small, beloved maple trees stand out.
Japanese maples start their blooming period in March or April. Their tube-shaped flowers appear in shades of red, purple, yellow, or pink. The blossoms are lovely, but the long-lasting appeal of these trees comes more from their stunning foliage and graceful structure.
With proper Japanese maple care, your tree can last for five decades or more. Keep your tree looking its best by taking these important steps in April.
Article continues below1. Check for Damage
With winter on its way out the door, spring is the perfect time to make sure your Japanese maple has passed the cold months unscathed. Give your tree a spring checkup before the leaves mature, if possible. It’s easier to see winter damage.
Take a careful look at the tree, walking around it slowly and inspecting the branches. Identify any branches injured by snow, ice or wind. Prune these off carefully to prevent further damage. Use clean, sanitized pruners.
Shop Live Trees
2. Prune Lightly
Spring is not the moment to reshape your tree or undertake heavy pruning. The tree is just waking up from dormancy and is ready to grow. In April, limit trimming to structural issues. If you note crossing branches, eliminate one or both now. The time for heavier Japanese maple pruning is the dormant season in late winter.
Most Japanese maples are grafted to hardy rootstock. Look for the graft line on the maple’s trunk. If there's growth below that line, prune it out now. This will give the tree more energy to build its canopy for the new season.
3. Be Water Wise
Spring looks different in different parts of the country. Some regions are wet in springtime, with spring rains washing the landscape for days on end. Elsewhere it still may be dry and cool, while southern regions can be hot and dry. Check the weather report first, but the soil will tell you most of what you need to know to help your tree blaze through spring.
Remember, Japanese maples like the moisture somewhere in the middle. They grow best in moist, well-draining soil. Either extreme – dry or wet – is detrimental. Lack of water in April stresses the tree and can prevent leaves from developing. Waterlogged soil can damage and even kill the roots. If your soil is dry when you stick one finger into it, water around the tree deeply.
In April, the tree needs deep watering once or twice a week, whether from the rain or the garden hose. Do the task in the early morning to help your maple prepare for the heat of the day.
Shop Japanese Maple Essentials
4. Review the Soil
While you're checking on broken branches and the soil moisture, take a close look at the soil itself. Rain, snow and cold can cause compacted soil, hard as rocks. Compacted soil is not a good way for the tree to start the growing season, since water cannot seep through to the roots.
You can improve compacted soil by aerating the top layer. You can either dig small trenches running from the tree trunk outward to let the water, nutrients and even air enter. Alternatively, break up the hard top layer using an aerator like this one from Amazon around the base of the trunk. This has the same effect as the trenching, enhancing water flow into the soil.
Once the compacted soil is addressed, work in some organic compost and/or a balanced fertilizer. This will give the tree a boost for growth for the year.
5. Mulch Mulch Mulch!
I think of mulch as a soft blanket for my maple tree. I use wood chips, but pine needles are also a good choice. Keep all the “rules” of mulching in mind. Never pile the mulch so that it laps up onto the trunk and keep the level modest, no more than a few inches.
What does mulch do? It offers so many benefits for the tree: helping to hold the moisture into the soil, protect the soil from heat and cold, and keeps down weeds looking to share the nutrients in the maple’s soil. It’s an easy gesture and goes a long way toward a good year for your tree.
6. Inspect for Pesky Pests
This is not a one-and-done task, alas. Japanese maple pests in April are looking for the soft new growth a maple offers to land and dig in. Some insect pests, like aphids, literally dig their sap-sucking mouth parts into the new leaves to sip out the fluids inside. Signs of aphid issues include leaf curling, leaf discoloration, and/or sticky residue called honeydew that attracts ants. Look underneath the leaves for aphids.
Scales are another spring pest, since they can overwinter on or near the tree. Japanese maple scales are small and they blend in with the tree bark. That means you have to keep a close eye out for their tiny bodies, shaped like oystershells, and covered in wax. Inspect the lower section of the trunk, which is where you will usually find them in spring. Horticultural oil spray will reduce the problem. Signs of a scale infestation include dropping leaves and twigs dying back.
