Planting in the Landscape A home for your young Maples should be prepared prior to their arrival if you wish to put them directly into the landscape. The siting of your Maple is discussed in the Japanese Maple Landscape Culture section. If your soil is heavy, it should be a amended with sand, bark, or other material to improve drainage, and the soil should be mounded above grade to assure good drainage. Maples are very adaptable to soil types, so if drainage is good, the addition of compost for nutrients and tilth is all that is needed. Frequent, regular watering will get your Maple off to a great start.
Maples do quite well with regular lawn watering and an occasional deep watering during dry times.
The University of California did a study that indicated that frequent watering in the first year of transplant is the single most effective thing you can do to increase your chance of success in new landscape plantings. The water seems to help the roots find their way into the soil, and establishes your planting. Maples are not deep rooted trees, so please remember to water them. It is the single most important thing you can do to insure yourself a beautiful tree. We water our landscape trees three times a week, except when it rains.