Japanese Maples: The Complete Guide to Selection and Cultivation, Fourth Edition

I just pre-ordered this book for $33 (discounted from the $49.95 sticker price) from Amazon.com. I can't wait to see which cultivars have been added. There are so many newer cultivars available that I can't find any good info about. Hopefully, this will help sort through the ever growing options.

Japanese Maples: The Complete Guide to Selection and Cultivation, Fourth Edition
(Gregory & Vertrees) will be released next week. Among the first titles published in 1978, with more than 150,000 copies in print in three editions, Japanese Maples is a Timber Press classic. Japanese maples are unlike any other tree. They boast a remarkable diversity of color, form, and texture. As a result of hundreds of years of careful breeding, they take the center stage in any garden they are found. In the last decade, the number of Japanese maple cultivars available to gardeners has doubled and there is a pressing need for an up-to-date reference. This new fourth edition offers detailed descriptions of over 150 new introductions, updates to plant nomenclature, and new insights into established favorites. Gardeners will relish the practical advice that puts successful cultivation within everyone's grasp. Accurate identification is made simple with over 600 easy-to-follow descriptions and 500 color photographs.

Peter Gregory, retired manager at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, England, is the chairman and co-founder of the Maple Society and the editor of its journal. He has been involved with tree research, including maples, for more than five decades. He lives in the UK.

J. D. Vertrees (1915-1993) was probably the most knowledgeable grower of Japanese maples in his time, and amassed at Maplewood Nursery in southern Oregon the largest collection of Japanese maples in the United States.

I just pre-ordered it for $33 (discounted from the $49.95 sticker price) from Amazon.com

 

Hi Sasquatch, I've been looking forward to reading this book too. Looks like you're going to be able to get your hands on it first as it's not out on this side of the pond, and I haven't seen a firm publication date yet. (I ordered mine last year for delivery in July 2009, lol.)

[Note for people in UK (and Europe in general I guess) - Amazon.co.uk is listing a 15 May publication date and WHSmith says 1st of May.]

 

Maf,

I buy all my gardening books from Amazon US, whether they are published in Europe or the US. Even when you add shipping costs they turn out to be 10-30% lower cost that ordering them from European suppliers.
Hope the $/€ rate stays favorable!!, it may be different for the £.

Gomero

 

Thanks Gomero, for some reason I thought Amazon US wouldn't ship to the UK but obviously I am wrong or out of date there. My pre-order still works out marginally cheaper than importing, but the difference is negligable so I may think about changing my order. Which shipping rate do you recommend and how long does delivery usually take?

About the book - pleased to see 72 extra pages than the 3rd edition and more than double the number from the 2nd ed.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on this book! I pre-ordered mine today...

 

It is true that for some books (like textbooks) they would not ship outside the US, for those you would need a friend there who would be willing to receive them and then change the label in the box!!
I tick the low cost shipping, it takes 2-3 weeks for France but, then, I am not really in a hurry ;o))

Gomero

 

Thanks, added it to our "Books Wanted" list for the botanical garden library.

 

Ouch, I think I caught the virus visiting this forum : not only did I order 10 seedlings of Acer p; to try grafting, but I also ordered three cultivars.
And now, I've ordered this book from Amazon.com : 40 USD shipping included, whereas it's 40€ on amazon.fr and will only be available in May. "Saved" about 10€ and will have it one month earlier ;-)

 

maf,

I also pre-ordered the book last year and have been waiting. I thought that it was due out last July.

Peter Gregory the author and Hugh Angus from Westonbirt Arboretum will be speakers at the North American Branch of the Maple Society meeting in Dallas. Link to info is below.

http://www.maplesociety.org/node/16

Ed

 

Yes, thank you sasquatch, looking forward to it.

 

many thanks for this news!

 

Well, it may be very close to here! I have been following the timber press website on occasion, always listed as coming soon. But it is now listed under the new book section:

http://www.timberpress.com/books/japanese_maples/vertrees/9780881929324

thanks also for the heads up.

 

I just got an email saying mine had shipped! woohoo! (on pre-order since Dec 2008)

 

From Timber Press or amazon?

i also got an email from timber press that it was in stock also at the same or similar discount with free shipping.

Can't wait as well.

 

From Amazon. I'm pretty sure I had ordered it after reading this thread.

 

A note for UK people - just received notice my copy has been dispatched from WHSmith. At present it is still listed as pre-order on their website, but it is actually available in the UK now. Also Smiths are cheaper than Amazon.co.uk at present.

Given the weak pound I'm glad I didn't cancel my order and ship one over from the U.S.

 

They are shipping. My copy arrived from Timber Press today in the mail. Now to take a look and see the changes. It is much thicker for sure. Some feedback after I review.


Ed

 

Looking forward to your notes! I'll probably have to buy it, but with 35 maples and an 1/8th of an acre (many dwarfs and half in containers), I'll have to limit my interests to the academic! I have been developing my pruning skills!

 

Looking forward to your feedback too, Ed.

 

I still haven't received my book from Amazon. In fact, I just got notice that they won't be shipping it for another week or so. I found the book locally at Barnes n Noble but it was $50 so I guess I will have to be patient, and wait for Amazon to deliver.

Between waiting on this book, and waiting to see if my fresh grafts will survive, I am going crazy.

 

I think the love of Japanese maples is a disease that is becoming quite uncontrollable :)

 

Does this 'complete guide' include info on cultivation for 'pushing the zone'? I'd love to try one, but I don't think there is any hope. Can they be grafted to make them hardier?

 

Sam, your "disease" delights us all! You have a beautiful garden, inspirational! I wish I had the land to do the things that you, Ed and others have done. I can expand my horizons via publications and visits, and Amazon is great for good book deals. I'm thinking about one addition this year, and the book could assist.

 

Happy to say I was wrong there - mine arrived several days ago.

I haven't read it "cover to cover" yet but first impressions are of a well written, well designed and well produced book, the accuracy of the colour reproduction of the photographs seems pretty good too. I skipped straight from the second edition to the fourth, so I can't comment on how much is changed since the last edition, or how many new cultivars are described.

(As someone who can be over critical at times, I am pleased to say I have found only one small disappointment so far. The leaf sizes are now given as simply small, medium or large, instead of the previous detailed measurements. I can see why this was done: to make the book more user friendly and because the leaf size can vary depending on cultural conditions; but it would have been nice to retain the measurement system for the very small and very large leafed varieties at least.)

All in all, I would not hesitate to recommend Japanese Maples to anybody with an interest in growing these trees, and congratulate Peter Gregory on a job well done in updating this classic.

I'll second that.

Nothing more than the standard advice of a USDA zone 5 minimum for planting in the ground. I think Winnipeg is about 3b (according to what I just looked up) - your best bet would be to grow one in a container and move it to somewhere, eg. a garage, that doesn't go below -10C in winter. Also, try searching for posts here by Zonebreaker who grows JM's in northern Sweden.

 

We're actually 2b (in Canadian zones), and I bet Sweden is warmer than here, but thanks for the help. It might be a good book anyway - just for the pictures!