Japanese red maples in Poland

PolishCowboy:

I was going to restore my family home. The exterior is going to be clad with all white porcelain architectural tiles, its all going to be monochrome like a Richard Meier house. For the landscaping I was going to plant Japanese Red Maples in the front yard giving it the traditional colors of Poland white and red.

PolishCowboyThreads: 1 Posts: 64 Joined: Jan 30, 09	Mar 29, 09, 01:33 / #
I was wondering if Japanese red maples can grow in southern Poland, I can't seem to find any info on the subject. The tree can grow from a landscape zone of 5-9. A 5 is similar to the weather in New York which is somewhat the same as Polands. Does anyone know or ever tried this?

RandalThreads: 1 Posts: 758 Joined: Feb 14, 09	Mar 29, 09, 01:53 / #
What an odd question. Do you run a nursery, PC? Looking to export trees, maybe? I know they have Dogwoods, I saw one in a photo someone posted here.

NathanThreads: 33 Posts: 1,846 Joined: Feb 13, 09	Mar 29, 09, 03:10 / #
I adore Japanese maple trees :)

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Edited by: osiol Mar 29, 09, 03:36 / #
They grow fine in the UK with its maritime climate (that means a lot less cold in the winter than in Poland). I grow quite a wide range of Acer palmatums (palmata, I suppose that should be). If I were to give one to someone in Poland, I would guess that winter frost protection would be an essential. That could mean keeping it in a container and growing it on a balcony that can be covered in winter. I have seen that done in eastern Poland with a Nerium oleander. Someone in southern Poland would have to be really nice to me to deserve a Japanese Maple as a gift.

PolishCowboyThreads: 1 Posts: 64 Joined: Jan 30, 09	Mar 29, 09, 21:42 / #
I was jusgt going to restore my familys home and clad the exterior with Randal: What an odd question. Do you run a nursery, PC? Looking to export trees, maybe? I know they have Dogwoods, I saw one in a photo someone posted here. I was going to restore my family home. The exterior is going to be clad with all white porcelain architectural tiles, its all going to be monochrome like a Richard Meier house. For the landscaping I was going to plant Japanese Red Maples in the front yard giving it the traditional colors of Poland white and red.

RandalThreads: 1 Posts: 758 Joined: Feb 14, 09	Mar 29, 09, 21:59 / #
PolishCowboy: I was going to restore my family home. The exterior is going to be clad with all white porcelain architectural tiles, its all going to be monochrome like a Richard Meier house. For the landscaping I was going to plant Japanese Red Maples in the front yard giving it the traditional colors of Poland white and red. Cool idea. But they are sloooow growers.

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Mar 29, 09, 22:49 / #
I have remembered there is a Japanese Maple called 'Sangu-Kaku' or something similar, which has all the things you could possibly want from a maple, but also has bright red stems that stand out nicely in the winter. Better still, why not try some of this selection: Prunus serrula (Himalayan Cherry) which is not the same as Prunus serrulata. P. serrula has pale pink spring blossom, green summer leaves, red ornamental cherries in the autumn and absolutely gorgeous red peeling bark, rather like the bark of a birch, only because it's red, when the sun, particularly the winter sun, shines through it, it glows around the edges of the trunk. Plant a couple of these, along with a couple of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (Himalayan birch) and you have Poland colours and some very nice trees. Neither grow particularly large. There are maples other than the Japanese ones that you could try. The obvious candidates would be the native European ones - Acer campestre and Acer pseudoplatanus. The former is good as a hedging plant or as a tree with its rough bark. The latter is a large tree and should be planted with plenty of space and caution. Maybe you don't have room for all that, but you could easily find room for Fuchsias. Just look for ones with appropriately coloured flowers and remember to cover it with fleece in winter. Penstemons are good cottage garden perennials. Again, some have flowers that are both red and white, or you could find two varieties, one red, one white. Again, I can't remember the specific name, but I have seen a Gaura with red and white flowers. This is another small perennial. If you like interesting leaf shapes and autumn colours, you could try Rhus typhina (Sumac) but that does have a habit of spreading by suckers which come up in other parts of the garden, in neighbours' gardens, over the other side of the road and maybe even through the living room floor. I have seen one in Poland that was behaving itself alright, but I can't guarantee good behaviour. If you have a large lawn and plant one in the middle, constant mowing around it will definitely help. Finally, another addition could be some climbers - Lonicera (honeysuckle) and Clematis. Plenty of honeysuckles have appropriately coloured flowers and the range of Clematis is absolutely staggering. Train these plants along fences or amongst trees and bushes. I'm not sure how many of these will be available in Poland, but certainly in Germany and other places west of Poland if you like driving a long way with a load of plants for company. I would still say that it would be worth trying with a Japanese Maple, but start with a small one and keep it in a pot so it can be taken under cover in winter.

PolishCowboyThreads: 1 Posts: 64 Joined: Jan 30, 09	Mar 30, 09, 04:15 / #
osiol: osiol Thanks for the info and the suggestions. Are you a professional landscaper or landscape architect? I'll start growing a few of the Japanese maples this summer (in a pot). Good Idea with the wall climbers, I hope they can cling-on to the porcelain tiles. Would covering a plant in fleece prevent it from getting air? I was thinking I'd use some snipers ghillie suit netting its pretty compact and very breathable, and not very expensive in the states anyways. Thanks again, you gave me some great ideas.

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Mar 30, 09, 19:54 / #
PolishCowboy: Are you a professional landscaper or landscape architect? I'm a professional grower, but not a professional gardener. PolishCowboy: Good Idea with the wall climbers, I hope they can cling-on to the porcelain tiles. You'll need trellis for Clematis or Lonicera. Very few plants will be able to cling to smooth ceramic tiles. PolishCowboy: Would covering a plant in fleece prevent it from getting air? Use fairly light fleece, but possibly doubled up to give it an extra layer. You shouldn't have a problem with air getting to the plant. After talking to a Slovakian colleague about their climate down there in Slovakia, I'd recommend with any tender plants like Fuchsias, cut them back to just a few centimetres for winter and mulch with leaf litter, then cover with heavy fleece. Then expect the thing to die anyway! PolishCowboy: snipers ghillie suit netting I'm not entirely sure what this stuff is. I had a look on g**gle, but still not sure. Anything is worth a try though.

George8600Threads: 20 Posts: 1,114 Joined: Feb 19, 09	Apr 1, 09, 18:08 / #
I can tell you for one that it's near impossible to grow those beautiful Japanese Cherry Blossoms in Poland; or for that matter anywhere in Europe. :-(

George8600Threads: 20 Posts: 1,114 Joined: Feb 19, 09	Apr 1, 09, 21:43 / #
Yea Randal, Chicago climate is very similar to Polish. However I did take this botany class claiming that soils are different, winds, nutrients, microorganisms in the dirt, ecosystem for botanic animals. Owell. In Japan though, they're climate is immensely different. The springs are warm as are the autumns, the summer has a heavy rain/storm portion to it within the spring as well. And the winters snow a lot but aren't miserably cold.

Lukasz KThreads: - Posts: 108 Joined: Feb 5, 08	Apr 12, 09, 00:26 / #
You can for sure grow Japanese red maples (Acer palmatum, Acer japonicum, Acer grisetum, Acer schirasavanum, Acer sieboldianum) to some extend (good soil conditions, and stand hidden from eastern winds) in Poland but I would reccomend "natural" or slightely changed selections (like A. palmatum 'Atropurpuretum') becouse those grafted tiny maples like 'Dissectum' tend to be less hardy. Poland lies in USDA zone 6 (western in z. 7) but you have to consider that Polish climate is very different from those of US - Poland lies much further to the north so the winters are much longer and summers shorter and less warm. See here: http://glebowski.eu/UPRAWA/usdaeuropa.jpg Regards Lukasz

RandalThreads: 1 Posts: 758 Joined: Feb 14, 09	Apr 1, 09, 18:20 / #
George8600: near impossible to grow those beautiful Japanese Cherry Blossoms in Poland Can’t they grow nearly anything that we can in the States? From what I’ve seen on some sites that had weather noted, the Polish climate is just about the same as ours. osiol: g**gle Lol...

Rafal_1981	Apr 12, 09, 00:44 / #
PolishCowboy: I was wondering if Japanese red maples can grow in southern Poland, I can't seem to find any info on the subject. You can check here: http://www.wroclaw.pl/ogrod/index.htm (Japanese garden in Wroclaw)

PolishCowboyThreads: 1 Posts: 64 Joined: Jan 30, 09	Apr 15, 09, 14:46 / #
Thanks for all the info guys. I'll start planting. Thanks