Japanese maples are deciduous shrubs or small trees that prefer a well drained, evenly moist, slightly acidic and reasonably organic soil. Japanese maples will grow well in all Australian regions that are not tropical and have reasonable rainfall. This generally includes the east coast of Australia from Tasmania up to Rockhampton as well as Adelaide and the south-western pocket of WA.

Japanese maples have a fibrous root system and prefer to grow in sandy loam soil, however they will grow in a wide range of soil's that have adaquate drainage. In heavy clay soils that don't drain too well, it is recommended that compost material be worked into the soil before planting. If you prefer to grow your maples in pots, then some of the smaller cultivars will make ideal container plants.

In the first 2-3 years of planting all maples will need a constant supply of water during summer when the soil begins to dry out. While hot afternoon summer sun will not kill a well watered plant it can result in leaf scorch, particulary for the finer leaf and some variagated cultivars. Ideally, plant your maple in a position where it will receive morning sun or filtered light.

It is recommended that your maples are fertilised once a year in late winter, using an all purpose fertiliser such as Osmocote. Any pruning should be done in winter (when the maples are dormant), but normally they should not require any. Also, throughout the year, any buds which appear below the graft can be removed.

Japanese maples can be used extensively to compliment and enhance existing landscapes. Whatever your taste there will no doubt be a maple to suit your gardening needs. There are generally three factors to look for when selecting your maple, including:

Leaf Colour-	from intense autumn reds through to the yellow's, gold's and orange's in spring. Variagated cultivars also produce interesting combinations of these colours.
Leaf Shape-	ranging from the small clustered leaves of Coonara Pygmy to the large dissected leaves of Garnet.
Growth Habit-	upright, upright spreading, upright bushy, upright cascading, weeping, low bushy, low spreading

Grafting is when the wood of a specific Japanese maple variety is joined onto a Japanese maple seedling understock. This ensures the grafted plant has the characteristics of the 'named' cultivar. Maples X Mail uses an Acer palmatum seedling that is at least 2 years old.

When the graft 'takes' and union between the two plants occures, then the understock stem is cut just above the graft and the tape removed. The resulting graft produces a named cultivar that will continue to grow from the understock.