Oh how I would love to be able to call myself an afficionado of Japanese maples… a connoisseur of plants with names like 'Beni kawa', 'Goshiki kotohime', 'Inaba shidare' and 'Sagara nishiki'! Unfortunately, I've had very poor luck with a number of my maple purchases over the past few years.
Let me qualify that… I've had very poor luck with the big, expensive specimens that I've bought, all from a nursery outlet that shall remain nameless.
The little bitty starts that I've purchased are doing ok… above and below is 'Trompenburg', purchased as a mere stick from an Oregon nursery… it's doing fine after being in the gardens for a number of years. Trompenburg is a member of the Matsumurae group of Acer palmatums. This refers to the Japanese maples with deeply divided leaf lobes of at least 3/4 of the leaf length. Trompenburg is a red from the Trompenburg Arboretum in Rotterdam The Netherlands. It was introduced in 1960 and is a reasonably fast growing JM, eventually reaching 20-25'.
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| Acer palmatum 'Trompenburg' |
I have four plants of Acer palmatum 'Emperor I', also purchased small, that are doing ok as well…
I've even bought tiny plants of 'Ever Red' and 'Bloodgood' from an Aldi's grocery outlet for ten bucks each and they've been thriving for three years already.
Then there's the $100 plus cultivars such as 'Osakazuki', 'Seiryu', 'Tobiosho', 'Coral Bark', and 'Sherwood Flame'. They were spectacular for a couple years and then it's R.I.P. I'm pretty certain the Seiryu was a victim of pseudonoma, a fungal infection. The symptoms in the others have been consistent… leaves dry up on branches in the summer and become curled paper bag brown… the problem progresses from one branch to the next and eventually the branches themselves dry up. I can't help wondering if it's a problem with the plant source since all the affected plants are from the same place. you may recall that I went through a similar situation with a number of magnolias all purchased from the same nursery and dying at the same age with the same symptoms… I must say I am getting paranoid and concerned anytime I see a dried up leaf as in the case of the 'Bloodgood' maple pictured below. I'm not ready to give up however… just don't ask me for advice on the subject of Japanese maples… not just yet, anyway!
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| JM 'Bloodgood' with Acer griseum |
One of my favorite JM's, doing well for several years in my gardens is the lace leaf 'Tamukeyama'. This is a member of the dissectum group… it is a red with fabulous fall color as seen above and below. In ten years it should grow to 3-4' and eventually will reach 6-8' in height and twice as wide. I truly am looking forward to that time. Tamukeyama has been grown in Japan since 1710 and I love this small tree that holds its red color through the heat of summer.
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| Acer shirasawanum 'Senzu' |
I'll end this post with these two cultivars of Acer shirasawanum that I am growing in containers basically because I am frightened for their lives… they spend their winters in our unheated garage and eventually I may get the courage to plant them outside permanently!
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| Acer shirasawanum 'Johin' |
If any of you are more experienced than I with JM's (that would be just about any of you that grow them!) and have thoughts about what has been killing off my large specimens, I'd love to hear your suggestions. I have read that JM can carry diseases/susceptibility to disease from the time they were grafted due to poor nursery practices… I really hope that is the problem and not me!
Take care, Larry
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| Acer shirasawanum 'Johin' |
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