We're Still Here-The Sun Tried to Destroy Us But We Survived
Hello All! Summer was wickedly cruel in it's hotness and lack of rain in the Kootenay River region in BC. We found out that the type of knit/weave on the shade cloth on our main greenhouse wasn't particularly effective. This caused some damage to some plants but we've rectified the situation and next year won't be a problem. Honestly, it was tough to keep up with the watering needs, because of the heat and because we aren't set up with timed irrigation. Alas, this was this year's problem and won't be next year's.
I hope most of you were able to protect your trees and keep them watered up. If you aren't mulching with 2-3" of wood mulch you are doing your trees a disservice, and making life harder for yourself. And also, if you must resort to throwing a chunk of shade cloth over your trees, or an umbrella, or anything during extreme hot temperatures please do. Moving potted trees out of the sun and into slightly cooler locations, too. The climate is changing and plants and animals don't adapt as fast as the changes are coming so don't beat yourself over any dried, brown leaves. Even I occasionally am guilty of not acting fast enough to protect my plants.
In other news, I was just putting an order together for next spring. A big order so hopefully I receive a large portion of it (the supplier divides the inventory amongst his customers so we don't receive everything we ask for). We may potentially double our available cultivars/varieties next year, and the quantities available. That would be absolutely awesome.
Our goal is to graft many of our own trees so that we can secure our own supply but grafting Japanese maples is a difficult endeavor. Although we are learning, we are nowhere near securing our own supply. In the meantime, this won't prevent us from trying to source all the unique varieties you all love. Ironically, many of the cool cultivars that have the variegated pinks and whites and also the dwarf types are difficult to graft! C'est la vie!
Two years in and we still absolutely love what Simply Japanese Maples is all about; offering cool trees, shipped to your doorstep. Couldn't do it without you, the customer, though. So, thanks. Happy Autumn! Enjoy the colours coming your way.