The Best Time to Transplant a Japanese Maple Is When It's Dormant. This Minimizes the Shock to the Plant and Lets It Focus on Re-Establishing Its Roots.

Putting in a Sidewalk Can Have an Effect on an Established Tree. Most Trees Have Feeder Roots, Close to the Surface, That Extend About as Far out from the Tree as the Tree Is Tall—in This Case, About 30 Feet—So a Sidewalk 15 Feet Away Did Cut a Lot of Roots. It Also Depends on How Deep the Construction Extended; If the Sidewalk Was Essentially Asphalt on Soil, It Won't Last Long, but Neither Did It Do Much to the Root Layer. If the Sidewalk Was on a Proper Base That Required Digging Down a Foot or More, of Course the Impact Was Bigger.

The Black Walnut, Juglans Nigra, Which Is Native to Virginia, Grows from Maine to Michigan and South to Texas and Georgia. the Question Refers to Allelopathy, a Complex Phenomenon About the Toxic Effects of Black Walnut on Neighboring Plants by a Secretion of Biochemical Materials into the Environment to Inhibit Germination or Growth. Symptoms Include Leaf Wilting and Yellowing, or Death of Part or All of a Plant.

Cuttings Are Taken in Late May Through Early July from This Season's Growth. Cutting Material (Four to Six Inches) Should Be Flexible, but Snap When Sharply Bent. Make a Cut Just Below the Point Where One or Two Leaves Are Attached to the Stem. Pinch off the Leaves on the Lower Half of the Cutting and Remove Any Flowers. Then Dip One End of the Cutting in a Root-Promoting Compound. Insert the Cutting Approximately Two Inches into the Rooting Medium. the Rooting Medium Must Retain Moisture and Drain Well. Coarse Sand, Perlite, and Vermiculite Are Good Rooting Materials. After All the Cuttings Are Inserted, Water the Cuttings and Let It Drain. Cover the Cuttings to Reduce Water Loss and Then Place the Cuttings in Bright Light, but Not Direct Sunlight. Rooting of Most Deciduous Shrubs Should Occur in Six to Eight Weeks, but Can Take up to 12 Weeks.

From the Number of Trees You Planted, I'm Guessing That You Are Trying to Create a Screen. We Have Shied Away from Using the Eastern Arborvitae (Thuja Occidentalis) for a Number of Year's Now, for Reasons That May Have Nothing to Do with the Problems Besetting Yours. Our Solution Has Been to Substitute Other Similar Species That Seem to Be Immune to the Ills Eastern Arborvitaes Are Susceptible to: for Instance, the Western Arborvitae (Thuja Plicata) or the Lovely Alaskan Cedar (Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis 'Pendula'). Since You Live on Long Island, Which Is a Bit Warmer Than Massachusetts, I Might Also Recommend Leyland Cypress. This Is an Intergeneric Cross Between a True Cypress and a False Cypress. It Doesn't Grow Well for Us, but It Might Be Just Right for You, and a Number of Cultivars Are Available with Different Colors and Growth Habits.

It Sounds to Me Like You Have a Kousa Dogwood (Cornus Kousa), a Native of Asia. the Abundance of Fruit Tells Me That You Must Have Had a Splendid Flower Display the Past June. If the Branches Are Bending, but Not Breaking, Why Not Leave Well Enough Alone and Enjoy the Display of Attractive Fruit as Well? It Turns out That the Fruit Is Edible, Which Is Not to Say That It Is Enjoyable to Eat. I Suspect That Birds, and Small Mammals Such as Chipmunks, Snack on It Now and Then, and as You May Have Noticed, It Contains Viable Seeds That Often Result in a Crop of Dogwood Seedlings Near the Parent Tree. I Collected Some of These from My Own Garden, Holding Them in a Nursery Bed Until They Were Large Enough to Be Planted in the Landscape, but Was Eventually Disappointed to Discover That the Offspring Did Not Flower Nearly So Well as the Original Specimen.

Your Trees and Your Lichen Have a Symbiotic Relationship: Each Grows Without Harming the Other, as Opposed to a Parasitic Relationship, Where One Element Preys on the Other. Not Only Are Your Lichens Pretty, but They Indicate Good Air Quality; They Won't Grow in Highly Polluted Environments, So My Advice Would Be to Just Sit Back and Enjoy the Fresh Air!

One of the Greatest Trials in Gardening Is That We Can't Control Ol' Man Winter. Severe Winters Like the One Last Year (Which You Aptly Called Brutal) Can Kill Plants New and Old. While Red Buds Are in Fact Hardy, Younger Plants Are More Susceptible to Weather Extremes, and It Seems Your Weather Was Just Extreme Enough. There Was Nothing More You Could Have Done. Here at the Victory Garden We Lost Several Established Plantings, Including a 10-Year-Old Ivy Bed, and Several 12-Year-Old Hollies. Like the Old Fred Astaire Song Goes, There's Nothing to Do Except "Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off, and Start All over Again!"

There Are Many Varieties of Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum), Some with Green Leaves and Some with Purple Leaves. on Some Cultivars Only the New Growth Is Purple. It Sounds Like You Have One of Those. If the Label That Came with the Plant States That Its Mature Foliage Is Supposed to Be Purple, Then That Information Is Obviously Incorrect and You Have a Legitimate Complaint Which You Can Take up with the Nursery Where You Purchased It. Also, Do Some Research on the Named Variety You Bought. If This Variety Is in Fact One with Purple Foliage, Then Your Tree Was Mislabeled, Which Is Also Grounds for Complaint.

The Victory Garden. Ask. Questions & Answers: Trees & Shrubs

By Elena Rostova

• Oct 8, 2026 • 16 min read

The Victory Garden. Ask. Questions & Answers: Trees & Shrubs

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

We Planted a Red Japanese Maple in Our Backyard Last Year. Now I Want to Move It. What Can I Do to Make Sure It Doesn't Die and Does It Need to Be Done at a Certain Time of the Year? It Is About Three Feet Tall and Looks Very Healthy. — Debbie, Moore, Oklahoma

Elena Rostova

Lead Health, Wellness & Medical Journalist

Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.

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