@ROEBUK as I said I want to show you and everyone else the view from the terrace as the maples in this part of the garden will more often be looked at from afar. So maybe Spring Delight is not a good choice at all (being green surrounded by green lawn). It is important for me that all my future maples can play their strengh as solitaires but that they also harmonise to each other concerning colours, habit and leaf structure. My problem is that I do not have the possibility to see older Japanese maples except the widely common once like Bloodgood, Osakazuki or Dissectum Garnet in person to get a better feeling how their overall effect will be when they are grown up. There are not so many maple nurseries in Austria as for example in The Netherlands and Britain :( I drove 9 hours to the North of Germany to get to a specialized nursery for the latest 5 Japanese Maples because I wanted to see them first and choose in person.But even they do not have the cultivars I am considering next. So I have to rely on your information and what I find on the internet to choose wisely and put all my future maples on their best places. @Acerholic I am not sure if that is a topic for a different thread? If you think so please feel free to move this post. I just thought I announced new pictures here yesterday so I thought it maybe were confusing if I don`t say anything and post it somewhere else. The rear part of our garden was mostly footballfield, trampolin and sandpit zone till last year. As I have already mentioned we adapted the hill and planted it and I planted an evergreen hedge along the fence to provide a dark background for the maples. The next step is to " furnish" this new green room, mostly with acers. So the perennials that you see next to the hedge are ready to make place for Japanese Maples any time. Only the Catalpa Aurea( I do not know the English name) will stay. BTW the one lilac within the hedge will be replaced by the same hedge plants as the rest. There is one place where I need a tree ( or maybe 2 next to each other) also for visual protection. I put a white ski stick there. The area from the stick to the hut is also reseved for maples. Other than that I am completely flexible. I would like to plant the one that will grow taller first and later add some dwarfs. There are some cultivars I have read about in the forum that I am considering like Ariadne, Atropurpureum, Beni Otake, Amagi shigure, Koto no ito, Autumn moon, Moonrise but I am eager to get to know your personal favourites. I do not have any maples with a bright yellow autumn colour yet or all-year yellow maples that do not scorch in full sun...( my Jordan also is quite burned) This is the view from the terrace I hope you can make out the ski stick... The visual protection doesn`t have to be dense., of course the hedge would grow up to 3 metres but the (very nice!) neighbours have their vegetable patch right behind it so we agreed not to let it grow higher than it is on the foto from the ski stick to the hill. But any maples will be planted with at least 3 metres distance and grow slowly anyway...so the neighbours won`t mind. This is the Catalpa Aurea( maybe it would look nice to put a red Dissectum and another dwarf to his left and right side later?) BTW the hut will need to be replaced eventually, so it`s not necessary to take it into consideration concerning colours of the maples. Noone has to feel obliged to plan our garden but if you have the feeling that one of your most recommended maples would be perfect for a place somewhere in this picture please tell me.If you have favourites but not for this location there is another part of the garden that will be planted with maples in the next years ....)
Hi everyone, I am trying to furnish the rear part of our garden with maples and hope for your help. @Acerholic , thank you D, I would appreciate it if you could move the post that I posted at the wrong thread here. :)
@sun, have looked at what you want and bearing in mind your location etc etc. My choice would be Summer gold and Atropurpureum. The latter will glow by the ski pole IMO. They are both hardy in all conditions and complement each other very well. Both are uprights but can be kept to a suitable size with pruning. These can be obtained via mail order from reputable nurseries in Europe. I would advise 5 ltr pots minimum to enable good root development and stronger trees. Small trees don't often make it through a first Winter. Hope that's of some help A.
@Acerholic , thank you D, for recommending Atropurpureum and Summergold. I definitely like your Atropurpureum and I have seen Summergold at the nursery in Germany( I spent 8 hours in there). In fact they have them both up to 3 metres tall. So that would be easy to purchase. I just wanted to say, that I when I said that I have not much access to bigger specimens I meant in my decision process. But I would not want to miss choosing my maples personally after having made a decision. So I have no problem with being on the road for 2 or 3 days in order to hunt done my dream maples. I think that probably it`s possible to get any cultivar in The Netherlands, if not in Germany, isn`t it. If not I would even consider a trip in your direction. So please do not exclude any maples from recommending because of my distance to any nursery. I am a very determined person and a good driver... Do you think Autumn Moon would also do well in the full sun. I think you mentioned that yours is also in full sun and I liked your fotos. Today I have been to a nursery and their Atrupurpureums have been quite green, not as bright red as yours. I don`t know if they have been on a very shady place before they were delivered to the nursery or if there are a lot of different varieties of them. I definitely would want like yours. But all of the red ones were quite green like that e.g. Bloodgood, Skeeter`s Broom and Red Emperor (which is always red in my garden). I read that too much shade, but also too much sun and dryness has that effect. Do you think with a watering system in full sun I can be confidant that it will be like yours?
@Acerholic , I am also fascinated by the grace of the Acer linearilobum group. Especially if their habit is like the one on this foto (it`s from the internet) Do you have one of those too? Do you think it would also be good for this place?
@sun, you will get a reputation for being the intrepid maple collector, lol. In Holland on Satudays a very good supplier is open to the public. I have purchased from them before via Lotta plants. See attached link. Dick van der Maat – Japanese Maple Nursery | Dick van der Maat - Japanese Maple Nursery Also Maillot in France is excellent quality. I have purchased from them as well and been very happy with the quality. Link attached. The store MAILLOT-ERABLE - The Japanese Maple specialist Another place to consider is Esveld in Holland. I have attached this link also. I have purchased from them and the trees are excellent. Plantentuin Esveld - www.esveld.nl As far as Autumn moon is concerned, I feel that Moonrise does slightly better in the sun IMO. But you do have to be careful with the Shirasawanum's, they can be very tetchy and you end up with scorched leaves all Summer. Atropurpureum, will be as red as mine as long as it gets full sun and is watered correctly. If the ground drys out TOO much the leaves will brown at the tips to the lobes. The ones you saw were probably in storage in the Spring out of the sun and moved recently in a position to sell. IMO this maple does so much better in the ground than in a pot, colourwise that is. If you look at your photo the upper leaves that have the sun are red but lower where they have been in shelter are green. 'The reds need sun'. Hopefully this has given you something to think on. Do ask more questions if you need to. Glad to help if I can.
@Acerholic Thank you very much, I have come across all of them when googling for pictures, but with your recommendation I will now study their homepages carefully and ask the route planner as well. I am very happy that you are positive the colour differences are not genetical but how they are kept. You should not ever encourage me to ask more questions! :) Here are two more, you asked for it: If you could choose 4 or 5 from your Acers that have an end height from 2 to 4 metres, which one would you take? (Growth habit like small trees preferred to compact bushes...) And do you think Ariadne which I love from your pictures is better to be planted where it can be watched from close up or does it also have a good effect from afar? I am interested in opinions from everyone...
@sun, I would have Ariadne in any position in any garden. It is my all time favourite. Mine is next to our patio, so read into that what you will, lol. Out of 4 or 5, it would be to do with seasonal colours. For early Spring it has to be Katsura. Not sure about your zone as it leafs out very early and can get caught by late frosts. But what colour to wake up to!! The next would be Ukigumo, it brightens a darker part of any garden and does well in a lot of shade. Beni Hime is so cute and very slow growing, it puts a smile on our faces every day. Ideal to place near a patio etc. The ghost series, especially 'Grandma ghost' out of the seven varieties I have (my profile photo). You just never stop looking at them and when you have guests for a BBQ, they are the topic of conversation. Hope that's of some use to you and do not worry about asking questions, everybody on this forum is glad to help.
I would agree with the recommendations made for ´Summergold'. It shows very little sunscorch, grows well when it gets going and has the added beauty of developing orange/red blotching as the summer progresses. These get brighter and more widespread as the
@sun, good morning A, Just taken these of 3 of my small Shirasawanum's, Aureum , Autumn Moon and Moonrise. They hold their colour well and get a lot of sun. Could not do this with Jordan as it would fry. Hope this gives you ideas for the area you are thinking of having one of these.
Lost the internet there for a bit so here at the photos I mentioned. First of Summergold then of Ariadne as it appears now end of July. I'll look out a photo of it in autumn.
@Ken Hamilton, love the shades of your Ariadne Ken. Mine stays red all Summer. It is in full sun though. I think A @sun might agree also on the Summer gold now !!!
@Acerholic , yes D, I definitely want a Summergold, It is funny that you say that Jordan tolerates less sun, as I bought it because they said it was especially for full sun. Maybe I should have planted Autumn moon instead of Jordan next to our pool. Do you think it will adapt over time or will I have to place it somewhere else? @Ken Hamilton I love your picture, is your Summergold in the shadow of the red one or does it only look like that on the picture? Could you tell me which red one it is? And could you tell me which red and yellow maples are on your profile picture?
@Ken Hamilton, I have also decided on Ariadne. I am planning on buying some maples next year. But I want to make a list of all the maples that will come within the next years even if I cannot buy them all at once and I want to do a provisonal plan about which maple might be at which place so I make sure that the most desired trees will have a place in our garden. I know that probably everything will be different as planned in the end. But I like planning... So if you also have suggstion of which are the most beautiful maples that you have I am very happy to hear it.
@sun, Your Jordan maybe OK, but mine and others I have seen do not do too well in sun. Keep an eye on it next season and think about placing it in somewhere with less direct sun. Two things Jordan cannot tolerate and that is wind and direct sun.
@Ken Hamilton, let us know how it goes Ken, very interested to see the results in the sun in the Emerald isle.
@sun The Summergold is a young one growing next to a large Red Emperor. Sooner or later I'll have to move the Summergold to allow it room to grow or may prune back the Emperor and keep them side by side for a while longer. Profile pic is of Sangokaku and Shiraz in full autumn colour. Both growing in dappled shade so summer and autumn colours vary from those grown in full sun. No filters or effects in that photo. JM's don't need that stuff.
Well, I think it has both where it is placed now, but my town is generally quite windy :((... I will wait till next summer to make a decision. But I want to shorten its long sprout on the top today, probably I should have done it weeks ago, when I bought it. My plan is to shorten it to about half of their lenghths measured from where the last cut was made. I show you some pictures. The bambu sticks mark the location of the last cuts: First Jordan as it is now: With the bambu sticks:
@Ken Hamilton I always like Sangokaku on pictures but I have heard people say that is not an uncomplicated tree and that many have troubles with it. I take it you cannot confirm that, can you?
@sun, it has made some good growth, but does look rather leggy. The beauty with JM, is that you can let them grow to how they naturally want to be, or like a lot of us that don't have the acres to do this, trim them to whatever shape and size that is appropriate for our particular space. If you cut along the top, remember next season it will produce two shoots from there, which can look quite un-gamely. You can top it atm, but prune to lower shoots in February to give a far better aesthetically pleasing look. If it were me I would wait until February, probably late February in your gardening zone. Just saw your message to Ken, Sangu Kaku is a lovely tree with wonderful bark all seasons long. When the leaves drop it is equal to the Dogwood in Winter reds. No problems in growing it where I am, but Bi-hoo, now that's a buyer beware tree if you consider this one for the bark colour. Massive die back every year!!!
@Acerholic Okay D, then I will wait and you mean with that I should prune the long ones almost all the way down to where they emerge from the site of the last cut? Only some cm above? Concerning Sangukako I am constantly reading very differing end sizes, so I do not know if and where I have place for it (I would consider it for a quite sunny spot). Can you tell me what height is to be expected?
