Flowering maple
Treat it as tender from the start: a sheltered sunny wall or, better, a large pot that can be moved inside, and cuttings taken every summer as insurance.
Care
Sun to light part shade, with shelter from wind — the soft growth tears easily.
Medium — water freely in growth, sparingly through the winter rest.
Fertile, free-draining soil or peat-free container compost. In the ground it needs a warm, sheltered wall to have any chance of overwintering.
Prune in early spring, cutting back by up to a third and shortening any frost-damaged shoots to live wood. It flowers on the current year's growth, so spring pruning costs nothing in flower and keeps the plant from becoming a lanky, top-heavy shrub.
A high-potash liquid feed every two weeks through the growing season, in pots especially — it flowers over months and cannot sustain that unfed. Stop as growth slows in autumn.
Softwood cuttings in late spring or semi-ripe cuttings in late summer; both root easily with a little warmth. Take them every year — this is a short-lived, tender shrub and a cold winter often ends it.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchPrune back and tidy frost damage as growth restarts. how ›
- JuneFeed every two weeks with a high-potash feed through the flowering season. how ›
- JulyCheck for whitefly and red spider mite, both of which favour this plant under glass.
- OctoberMove pots into a frost-free place before the first hard frost. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchPrune back and tidy frost damage as growth restarts. how ›
- JuneFeed every two weeks with a high-potash feed through the flowering season. how ›
- JulyCheck for whitefly and red spider mite, both of which favour this plant under glass.
- OctoberMove pots into a frost-free place before the first hard frost. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryPrune back and tidy frost damage as growth restarts. how ›
- MayFeed every two weeks with a high-potash feed through the flowering season. how ›
- JulyCheck for whitefly and red spider mite, both of which favour this plant under glass.
- NovemberMove pots into a frost-free place before the first hard frost. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryPrune back and tidy frost damage as growth restarts. how ›
- MayFeed every two weeks with a high-potash feed through the flowering season. how ›
- JulyCheck for whitefly and red spider mite, both of which favour this plant under glass.
- NovemberMove pots into a frost-free place before the first hard frost. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Clouds of small white insects under the leaves, sticky residue below — very common under glass.
What to do. Encourage predators, use sticky traps, and keep the plant well ventilated.
How to spot it. Blackened shoot tips or the whole plant killed after a hard winter.
What to do. Overwinter under cover, or accept it as a patio plant and keep cuttings.
How to spot it. Long bare stems with leaves only at the top.
What to do. Prune harder in spring and give it more light.
Questions
Flowering maple: is it hardy?
H2: Tender. It survives down to 1 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Yes — a pot is the sensible way to grow it here, since it can be moved under cover for the winter.
Flowering maple: when do you prune it?
Prune in early spring, cutting back by up to a third and shortening any frost-damaged shoots to live wood. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in March.
Flowering maple: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in May–October.
When do you feed it?
A high-potash liquid feed every two weeks through the growing season, in pots especially — it flowers over months and cannot sustain that unfed. Stop as growth slows in autumn. Feeding months, UK: May–September.