Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, about 70 years old, modern substrate(baked loam, like turface, pumice, rough peat 20 %), August 21, at the moment hottest August in history, temperatures in the high eighties to low nineties almost every day, lost no rainfall in weeks, - NOT A PROBLEM! -perfect time in my area, climate zone 6b, south of Munich Germany, similar to south-eastern Pennsylvania, southern New England, Full foliage - do NOT take off foliage, 50 % of root ball cut off. After-care: half shade, watering every day, sometimes twice, when very hot and dry, water the WHOLE tree, foliage dripping wet. feeding with chemical strong fertilizer immediately. Doubts? I could have easily waited until mid-September or even mid April next year. No problem. I chose now because this is the best for the tree. I will show the tree in two months with full fall colour agai