Image – mikesbackyardnursery.com
I love Japanese maple. It is a very elegant plant, which is beautiful practically all year round (I would even dare to say that it is always beautiful, even in winter when it lacks leaves). Like me, there are many other people who like it very much, which is surely why botanists and growers are doing their best to bring out new and improved cultivars, such as the Acer palmatum ‘Beni Schichihenge’.
As you can see in the image above, this shrub or small tree has green and pink webbed leaves, something that this undoubtedly makes it a perfect variety to give color to the gardenor on the terrace since it can be kept in a pot.
What are the characteristics of the Acer palmatum ‘Beni Schichihenge’?
Image – theevergreennursery.com
our protagonist It is a deciduous shrub that grows only about 2 meters in height by more or less the same width.. Its development is that of a small dwarf tree, with a trunk that begins to branch out at some distance from the ground; it is not like other Japanese maples which develop branches very, very close to the ground and therefore have a lighter bushy shape.
The leaves, as I have already said, are green with pink edges; now well, in summer the pink parts become cream, and in autumn they are more reddish. It does not bloom, so it multiplies only by grafting in the spring.
What care do you need?
The Japanese maple ‘Beni Schichihenge’ is a cultivar that requires special care to be really good. Next, I will tell you everything you need to do so that you can have it in perfect condition:
Location
Picture – acersonline.co.uk
Where should he be? Well, to answer this question, it is important to keep in mind that you have to feel the change of seasons, the wind, the rain, the cold, etc., for this reason, It must be outside, in the shade. And it is that if we kept it inside the house it would not last long, since it could not withstand the conditions that it would find in the house.
Now, like the rest of the Japanese maples, it is very sensitive to late frosts. Don’t get me wrong: it supports frost and indeed the temperature must drop below 0 degrees so that it can better regulate its cycles.
But you should know that as soon as the weather starts to improve it will sprout, which is a problem if there are usually late frosts in your area. For this reason, in these cases it is not necessary to protect it with an antifreeze cloth and remove it immediately as the temperatures, then yes, rise, leaving behind the values below zero.
soil or substrate
It is a plant that could be described as “acid”, since It can only grow in soils that are like this, acidic, with a low degree of alkalinity (between 4 and 6.5). It is something that we must bear in mind, whether we want to plant it in the garden or if we prefer to have it in a pot. In fact, In a pot, it will be necessary to put a specific substrate for acid plants, coconut fiber, or opt for a mineral mixture as follows: 70% akadama + 30% kanuma.
If the soil in the garden is alkaline, I do not recommend planting it there. not even if a very large hole is made and filled with acid soil. Because? Because sooner or later the two earths will be mixed unless this is avoided by covering the edges with plastic; and even so, as soon as the roots reach the bottom – which must be unprotected, i.e. without any plastic – the leaves will surely begin to look chlorotic.
Irrigation
Another important issue that is closely related to land is irrigation water. The water should also have a low pH. (like rainwater, or that of Bezoya for example), because otherwise each time we water the Japanese maple ‘Beni Schihenge’ with it, we will raise the pH of the soil, something that will eventually cause problems like chlorosis that I talked about before. It is nothing more than yellowing of the leaves due to a nutrient which, in the case of maple, would be iron.
Also, be aware that it does not tolerate drought. For that, the soil should always be kept slightly moist.
Subscriber
When do you have to pay it? The ideal is to start in the spring, when we see that the buds are waking up. And we will continue until the summer is over and our maple begins to fall; then we will suspend the subscription until next year.
If you want to know which fertilizers to use, I recommend acid plant specific fertilizers. Now, if you have it on the ground, you can fertilize it with guano or goat manure, for example.
hardiness
The Acer palmatum ‘Beni Shichihenge’ frost resistant down to -18ºCunless they are late.
Have you heard of this Japanese maple?