I take it its supposed to "want" full sun... a colored variety? If so, that should be fine.

In nature, Japanese Maple grows in the understory of a mature forest, where it gets lots of shade. But I *think* those are green varieties mostly.

Sun exposure only matters when the tree has leaves. You can keep a potted plant in a building where it gets zero sun all winter long and it would be just fine if everything else, like soil moisture and temperature, are good.

the short answer is: a dormant tree needs no sun ... no leaves to photosynthesize such ...

i dont know why brandon complicates this by talking about bringing it indoors ... that is its own nightmare.. for other reasons ....

i am presuming.. just a poor choice of wording ...

and as martin says... just plant it ...

normally ... full sun is considered anything over 8 hours .... but the problem is defining shade.. as a hosta grower.. i can tell you there is a wide spectrum of what that word means.. from a dark cave like grotto to near full sun thru a canopy that simply speckles it ...

just go for it ... thats the short answer ... odds are.. short of the cave.. it will survive.. and then the only question will be... is VIGOR .. or what you term THRIVE ... simply living.. does not equate with thriving ....

so, if in a few years.. if it seems gangly.. or spindly.. you will have your answer as to it lacking enough light.. to photosynthesize ... and you would.. at that point.. lift the canopy of the mature trees.. or move this one.. to a better location ...

this thing isnt going to grow so fast.. that you wont be able to move it for the next 5 years .. and if it does.. you wont need to move it..

nothing really dies for lack of enough sun.. it will just look weak ... the word you use.. thrive .... which we would call vigor ...

again: GO FOR IT ....

ken

ps: short of the cave... your bigger issue will be PROPER WATERING ... large trees are fierce competitors with understory plants .. and you will have to insure.. you provide enough water for it to get established... speaking of brandon.. review the link.. and do EVERYTHING it suggests... everything.. no picking and choosing.. he is the author ... do not amend.. and NEVER fert... you will be cutting the large trees roots to dig the whole.. and if you make that soil too good.. care to guess where the huge tree will grow some new feeder roots... and steal all the water you put down ???

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken, there's nothing complicated about bringing potted plants inside an unheated building during winter! I do it every winter and get MUCH better survival rates for some plant that might not make it if left outside. As I made clear, soil moisture and temperature have to be good, but that's easy to manage.

Thank you all for you replies. The GardenWeb forums continue to be an excellent source of information, regardless of the horrid advertising they subject us to!

I'm not afraid of making mistakes in planting, but seeing as how I paid for this tree I'm hoping to see it grow to maturity over the next couple of decades.

Thanks again everyone.

"The GardenWeb forums continue to be an excellent source of information, regardless of the horrid advertising they subject us to!"

You should download and use Firefox with Adblock Plus. I haven't seen a single ad or pop-up on GardenWeb in years. With Firefox, GardenWeb works just like if there were no ads or pop-ups. Also, IMO, Firefox is an awesome all around browser. Adblock Plus is one of the best add-ons for Firefox.

This post was edited by brandon7 on Mon, Oct 14, 13 at 11:25