Native Plants
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Monday - May 03, 2010
From: Glastonbury, CT
Region: Northeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Failure to thrive of non-native Japanese maple
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
My 10 year old Japanese red maple leaves suddenly started to curl up and die at the end of summer last year. Only about a quarter of the tree leaved out this spring, branches are dead. Can I plant another in its spot? What could have happened?ANSWER:
Acer palmatum, Japanese Maple, is native to China and (of course) Japan. Since the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the use, protection and propagation of plants native not only to North America but to the areas in which they are being grown, we have no information on this plant in our Native Plant Database. Here is an About.com: Forestry article How to Manage and ID Japanese Maple, which can give you a lot of information to help you discover the problems. The fact that you kept it alive for 10 years indicates you were doing a good job, as it is not ordinarily a long-lived plant, and this USDA Plant Profile does not even show it as growing in Connecticut. Hartford County, in central Connecticut, is in USDA Hardiness Zone 6, and the Japanese maple is hardy from Zones 5b to 8, so your temperatures should not have been the problem. If you know others are growing this tree in your area, you might contact the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Office for Hartford County. If this is something that has been happening in your area, they are closer to home and can give you more help than we can.More Non-Natives Questions
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Bluebonnets for Shanghai
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a. Do you have any ideal soil recipes that bluebonne...
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Non-native ornamental peach purchased in Georgetown TX
March 29, 2011 - I purchased an "ornamental peach" at a plant sale in Georgetown, TX. Only info it had on the tag: 6' tall. The leaves are long and narrow, burgundy, with serrated edges; is in a 1-qt pot. Any ca...
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Smarty Plants on Pinguicula
October 28, 2005 - Does any plant of the genus Pinguicula (butterworts) grow wild in israel--maybe in Mount Hermon or Upper Galile?.
israeli carnivorous plant society couldn't give me a clear answer about this issue. ...
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Deer eating Non-native Asiatic Jasmine in Georgetown, TX
October 22, 2015 - Is there a spray or granular material that will prevent deer from eating asiatic jasmine?
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