] In article , Emery Davis ] wrote: [] ] > My question is whether it is safe to put it directly into the ground at ] > this age, where it will receive some north wind and cold, or whether ] > I should pot it up for a couple of years. Your advice appreciated. ] > [] ] > Europe zone 8. ] > ] > -E ] ] Outdoors in zone 8 is not harmful to young Japanese maples, but even ] rather more mature & tougher varieties may not like autumn winds which can ] prematurely dry out the leaves before they reach full color & cause them ] to adhere to branches through winter, & can cause small limbs to die. This ] is particularly true of a 'Aka shigitatsu sawa' even when they're older, ] as this little tree will always be somewhat susceptible to being sunburned ] or windburned & prefers some wind-protection in dappled or morning ] sunlight. If you could at least plant a couple of largish shrubs nearby to ] protect it from winter winds especially while its young & perhaps for ] life, that might be wisest. ]
Thanks Paghat. Europe zone 8 is equivalent to US zone 7, as I expect you know. :) The planting spot for this tree is already as sheltered as I can give it, very well sheltered from the south and west which represents about 95% of our wind. (And there's a lot of it, too). However in january we do sometimes get a period of prevailing north-east winds with relatively cold temperatures, and clear skies, rare here in winter. That's my concern when the plant is very young, the first couple of winters really. There are some other shrubs around but it isn't practical to put anything directly to the north.
As for light, it is indeed morning only, perhaps some very late afternoon in high summer. I have seen pictures of Aka Shigitatsu Sawa growing in fairly strong light, but as it turns out I don't need to take any risks with this one, as opposed to some other maples I'm trying to get acclimatized... Anyway thanks again.
-E