How to Grow an Acer Palmatum Orange Dream in Full Sun

Plant the bare-root “Orange Dream” in a 12-inch container with drainage holes and filled with equal parts sphagnum peat moss, horticultural perlite, coarse river sand, composted bark and compost. You can also plant “Orange Dream” in a well-draining area of the landscape that receives full sunlight and has a pH ranging from 5.5 to 7.5.

Space two or more “Orange Dream” Japanese maples 8 to 10 feet apart and 3 to 4 feet away from other plants when planting them in the ground. This cultivar doesn’t like vying for nutrients with other root systems.

Fertilize the “Orange Dream” at planting by attaching a hose-feeder bottle filled with concentrated water-soluble 15-10-15 fertilizer to your garden hose and spraying the soil with 1 gallon of mixture per square foot. Distribute 1/2 to 3/4 tablespoon of dry, water-soluble 15-10-15 fertilizer over the growing medium and water thoroughly if planted in a container. Fertilize once a year thereafter with the same amount of 15-10-15 after the threat of frost passes in spring.

Saturate the shallow, fibrous root system of your “Orange Dream” right after planting to a depth of 12 inches. Water the trees deeply each week if you receive less than 1 inch of rainfall per week.

Mulch the area surrounding the “Orange Dream” starting 2 inches from the base to the drip line with 3 inches of shredded leaves, shredded bark or bark chips after you water at planting. Add another 3 inches of mulch each year in autumn just after the first hard frost. Replace the mulch with 3 inches of fresh after the threat of frost passes in spring.

Prune back any diseased, damaged or dead “Orange Dream” branches to healthy tissue as soon as you see them, using lopping shears. Prune back exceptionally long branches to the parent stems as needed to develop a well-contained crown or to produce a desired shape. Prune the “Orange Dream” in autumn after the leaves fall. Trim back any downward-growing branches by making a 45-degree angled cut at the branch collar. Trim back branches that cross each other as needed.

Drape the open end of a bolt of burlap over the crown of the “Orange Dream” and secure it to a branch with a clothespin, when the temperature approaches freezing in winter. Bring the burlap to the ground and secure it to another branch with a second clothespin. Wrap the burlap around the trunk, canopy and crown several times, from bottom to top, and cut the burlap from the bolt with scissors. Tie the tree at the top, middle and bottom with twine to secure the burlap. Remove the clothespins after tying, and remove the burlap after the threat of frost passes in spring.

Check the “Orange Dream” regularly for leaf rollers, white, 3/4- to 1-inch long insects that roll leaves with webbing when they reach the adult stage. Leaf roller infestations seldom warrant the use of herbicide. Spray them off the foliage with a strong stream of water when you see them.

Examine the “Orange Dream” foliage for a powdery white mycelium, a common sign of powdery mildew fungus. Trim off infected leaves with garden shears. Mix 1/2 tablespoon of a fungicide containing 20 percent extract of reynoutria sachalinensis with 1 quart of water. Pour the fungicide in a garden sprayer and spray the foliage until covered on all sides. Repeat treatment in seven to 10 days, if needed.

Examine the “Orange Dream” for stunted shoots and yellowed, curling leaves, an indication of aphids. Mix 10 tablespoons of an insecticide containing 41.1 percent carbaryl with 1 gallon of water in a tank sprayer and spray the top and bottom of the foliage until covered.