Japanese Maple Fertilizer
Support healthy seasonal growth and the fine structure that makes Japanese maples stand out with a liquid fertilizer made for Japanese maples. It provides consistent nutrition for healthy growth while keeping plant care straightforward.
The liquid formula fits into regular watering, making consistent feeding easy for everyday plant care.
Why You'll Love It
- Steady Growth Consistent feeding supports healthy seasonal growth and fine branching.
- Healthy Foliage Supports the vivid foliage color Japanese maples are chosen for.
- Easy to Use A liquid feed you can apply through the growing season.
Made by growers
More than a bottle on a shelf.
- Talk to real plant people. The team that mixes the formula answers your email.
- Made in-house, in the USA. Every bottle mixed and filled by us, not a third party.
- We're growers, not resellers. We use this on our own plants before it ships.
- Bundle savings only here. Pair any two TPS formulas — your order ships free.
Japanese maple fertilizer for vivid foliage color and stronger branches. Consistent feeding supports healthy seasonal growth and the fine structure that makes Japanese maples stand out.
How to Use Japanese Maple Fertilizer
| Method | Amount | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Watering can (spring & summer) | 2 Tbs (30mL) per gallon of water | Apply every 1-2 weeks |
| Watering can (fall & winter) | Same dilution | Apply every 4 weeks |
| Hose end sprayer | Set dial to 1 oz (30mL) setting | Apply every 1-2 weeks in spring and summer |
| Leaf misting (optional) | 1 tsp per quart (32 oz) of water | Spray on leaves every 1-2 weeks |
Mix into your normal watering — no separate feeding routine needed. Water the root zone out to the edge of the canopy, and keep the tree mulched: Japanese maples have shallow roots that dry out fast.
What's Inside
A 3.6-3-5.1 ratio built around restraint. Nitrogen sits at 3.6% — all nitrate nitrogen, the form roots absorb directly, fast-acting with low burn risk — enough to support steady growth without forcing it, which matters more here than with most trees: heavy nitrogen produces long, soft shoots that wreck a Japanese maple's layered form, wash out the red and purple leaf color, and burn shallow roots. Potassium leads at 5.1% because that's what a maple actually needs from feeding: stronger wood, better water regulation through summer, and improved cold hardiness. Phosphate at 3% supports the fine surface root system these trees run.
Beyond NPK: sea kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum) for natural growth compounds, plus calcium at an unusually high 2.1% and 0.75% magnesium, with iron, manganese, zinc, boron, and copper. Manganese and iron are the two Japanese maples run short of first — they prefer slightly acidic soil, and in neutral to alkaline ground both lock up, showing as pale leaves with darker veins and, on red cultivars, color that fades toward green.
Made For
Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) and cultivars — Bloodgood, Crimson Queen, Coral Bark, Emperor One, laceleaf and dissectum types — plus Acer japonicum and Acer shirasawanum, grown as specimen trees, understory plantings, patio containers, and bonsai.
Problems It Solves
- Pale leaves with darker veins, or red cultivars fading toward green
- Slow establishment after planting or transplanting
- Thin, sparse canopies on trees in tired or compacted soil
- Container maples that stall after a few seasons in the same pot
FAQs
How often should I fertilize a Japanese maple?
Add 2 Tbs (30mL) per gallon of water and apply every 1-2 weeks in spring and summer, dropping to every 4 weeks in fall and winter. A hose end sprayer set to the 1 oz (30mL) setting works for larger specimens. Water the whole root zone out to the canopy edge. If anything, err toward the lighter end — these trees respond poorly to heavy feeding.
Why are my Japanese maple's leaves brown and crispy at the edges?
That's leaf scorch, and it's a water and sun problem, not a nutrient one. These trees have shallow roots and thin leaves that dry out in hot afternoon sun, drying wind, or when soil moisture drops. Mulch the root zone, water deeply during heat, and site new trees where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. Fertilizer won't prevent scorch, and feeding a scorched tree heavily makes it worse.
Can you over-fertilize a Japanese maple?
Yes, more easily than most trees — it's the most common mistake with them. Excess nitrogen produces long, whippy shoots that ruin the layered branching people buy these trees for, dulls red and purple foliage toward green, and can burn the shallow root system. This formula keeps nitrogen moderate for that reason. Follow the label rate and resist the urge to add more when a tree looks slow.
Why is my red Japanese maple turning green?
Two common causes. Too little light: many red cultivars need good sun to develop full color, and trees in deep shade drift green. Excess nitrogen: heavy feeding pushes leafy growth that dilutes the pigments. Nutrient shortages of iron or manganese can also mute color in alkaline soil. Check light first, then ease off any high-nitrogen feed nearby — including lawn fertilizer reaching the root zone.
When should I fertilize, and when should I stop?
Spring through summer is the main window, following the every 1-2 weeks schedule as the tree leafs out and grows. The label's every 4 weeks fall and winter rate keeps light nutrition available without pushing growth. Avoid heavy feeding in late summer in cold climates — soft new shoots started then won't harden before frost and can die back over winter.
When will I see results?
All the nitrogen is nitrate, absorbed directly by roots, so uptake begins with the first watering, but Japanese maples are slow by nature and show change gradually. Expect improved leaf color within 3-4 weeks, most visible on new growth. Canopy fullness and growth build across a season or two — these trees add modest height per year even under ideal care, and that's normal, not a feeding failure.
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