All these plants where sitting out in full sun in one of the hottest summers since 1988 and they look great so I can't say heat and humidity effect this plant based on what I saw. That is a limited observation though. The guy growing them said he uppotted them from a 1 gallon this spring to a 3 gallon container so they aren't pot bound at all. Nice healthy white roots. The promotional material says they don't burn...that appears to be true.

Thanks for the info. I want to leave them in containers so I can have them on my deck in the summer. The porch has very dramatic temperature changes, sometimes from 20 degrees at night to 55 in the daytime. Do you think that will be a problem?

I dug a hole close to the trunk per your suggestion and found water 1 feet deep and lots of clay soil. It didn't rain recently - it must be drainage issue. Attaching picture. I went to the local nursery and based on their suggestion did the following 1. Added root strengthening solution - assuming transplant shock 2. Home depot person suggested using Vitamin B1 solution to help with stress 3. I also added peat moss and organic compost+ manure to the top layer As far as staking goes, it is one year old - i added it after my tree fell down during a storm. Looks like i need to drain properly and improve the soil - it will be a long battle I also have a new problem - bark is splitting - not sure if i should do something about it - any ideas are welcome. Thanks for all the responses. Adding picture of bark as well.

Maples DO form buds in winter but the buds don't fully develop or start to enlarge until spring and the beginning of warmer temps. Lack of buds present in winter generally indicates a dead branch or dead wood :-) Not sure I'd agree with the nursery about fertilizing this late. Fall IS a great time to fertilize woody plants (if they need it) but generally that is reserved for earlier in the season when the roots are still active. Once soil temps cool to around 40-45F, roots become relatively inactive and are unable to metabolize the nutrients and fertilizer is just wasted. And it's generally not a good idea to fertilize at all unless your soils are deficient in specific nutrients, which is only determined by soil testing. Most woody plants require minimal fertilization at any time.