Hi
I hope you can help me. I live in Toronto and I have a small garden full of mid-height flowers, such as daisies, tulips, phloxes… Japanese weeping maple looks good when displayed prominently. I am trying to determine if it is worthwhile to plant the two Japanese maples (green waterfall and red tamukeyama) in my small yard full with mid-height flowers. My brain tells me to return the trees… however I am hoping that I can find a way to beautifully include them in my yard.
I face East and I am close to the lake, so I get a lot of sun from the South as well. I like flowers and colours. My garden in the back is like a foot wide border and I don’t think it is very deep. I can send you some pictures if you would like.
I cannot edit my email so sorry if it is not the clearest.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thank you.
You have not given the dimensions of your yard other than to indicate that it is small and already full of flowers. Whether your yard can accommodate one or both of the Japanese Maples will depend on how big is it. Here is some information to assist you in making your decision.
“Green Waterfall”, which I believe is also known as “Waterfall” is a lovely small tree, growing only 6 to 8 feet high and therefore could be suitable for small yard. As its growth pattern has branches cascading to the ground, it will also have a spread of 6 to 10 feet. This tree should grow in the conditions you describe, near to the lake facing east with sun from the south. It could also easily be grown with a variety of mid height flowers, as it is green during the summer. However, I would not recommend planting it if you cannot give it enough room. This might entail removing some of the flowers that you currently grow in order to create sufficient space.
‘Tamukeyama’ is another lovely tree that is very similar in it growth habits to Green Waterfall, except that the leaves are a purple/red throughout the growing season. This cultivar also grows 6 to 8 feet tall with cascading branches up to 12 feet wide. As the leaves will be red throughout the growing season, depending on the look you are after, it might not be as easily grown with colourful flowers. Again you should make sure that you have space to for the tree’s growth habit.
Both of these cultivars are beautiful small trees and could work very well in a mixed border, with flowers, giving some permanent structure to your plantings. However, do remember they will create some level of shade depending where you plant it.
Here is a link to a Toronto Master Gardeners Guide on Growing Japanese Maples, which you may find useful: https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/gardeningguides/growing-japanese-maples-a-toronto-master-gardeners-guide/