Acer palmatum 'Inaba shidare'

22nd August 2020 and yet another that looks pretty in the Summer rain. I really hope the members that have requested this one enjoy today's photo. If you do, then it was worth getting wet for.

 

27th August 2020 the winds have died down at last. Some suffered more than others.
New growth and nearly September, so very strange this year. I really don't think these new branches will survive the Winter.

 

28th August 2020 and the ground is incredibly wet for the time of year. Just had more hail stones and my maples that are heavy in leaf do not like it one bit.
But my Inaba Shidare hasn't fared too badly. Glowing in the aftermath

 

12th September 2020 and believe it or not, new growth is everywhere in my garden together with Autumn colours emerging. Temperatures of 31°C expected in a couple of days.
So pretty, but this will not survive if we have early hard frosts in October.

 

20th September 2020 and new growth plus some strange colouring on my maples now. But Inaba Shidare is doing everything right atm.

 

23rd September 2020 and the first full day of Autumn. We have lots of rain so the dissectums come into their own IMO.

 

3rd October 2020 an tbe colours are everywhere now. Inaba Shidare is giving a lot of pleasure in my garden.

 

14th October 2020 and the brightness of the leaves on my Inaba shidare is now so very pleasing to the eye in my garden. Hope you all agree that this cultivar deserves a place in any garden.

 

17th October 2020 and here is a fuller view of my Inaba Shidare as requested. Amongst the other greens this cultivar really stands out.

 

23rd October 2020 and Inaba shidare has the bright reds that have the orange tints now. This means in just a few days time the tree will be bare.

 

29th March 2021 and this cultivar is one that is fairly easy to buy in garden centres, so not rare at all. But that really does not matter to me, it's all down to what tree gives me pleasure to look at and this one certainly does. The next few days of very warm sunshine will make these buds burst.

 

26th April 2021 and my Inaba shidare decides it now wants to break out into some sunshine. I hope the late frosts don't destroy these lovely new delicate leaves.

 

2nd May 2021 and even with a frost every night since my last photo, my regular spraying has done it's magic.
Here is my Inaba Shidare a few minutes ago.

 

24th May 2021 and my Inaba shidare continues to please, especially after rain.

 

I got this one as a sad-looking stick in early spring: - really enjoying it now it's starting to leaf out and lengthen those branches:

 

It's not one of the most popular trees for nothing. And so hardy against these difficult Springs we are now getting.
Well saved Xi.

 

I understand another cultivar was lumped in with 'Inaba shidare' two or three decades ago by certain nurserymen. I am sure it was mentioned in these maple forums years ago. A great shame.

I have bought two 'Inaba shidare's over the years, one 20+ years ago from Batsford Arboretum, and one 10+ years ago from a DIY and garden store, and they are subtly different from each other.

Both are nice, and have a more graceful character than many red dissectums that are grown for speed, but it would be nice to be able to recognise them as two different cultivars.

 

Good morning M, I hear what you are saying, as I have had the same with other cultivars that are named the same as the ones friends have but have been purchased at different places and you can see a subtle difference. My thoughts on this has always been. What rootstocks did the different grafters use !!? This could be the reason behind those slight differences.

D

 

Hi D, I see your point and I am not 100% sure if my two plants are the same or not. While I agree the rootstock can affect the look, particularly the colour, of a grafted maple, I was more referring to the wholescale mixup in the trade between 'Inaba shidare' and 'Red Select' and also possibly 'Oregon Garnet'. This is a documented problem in the US and there is no reason to think it did not happen on this side of the pond also. I think the third edition of Vertrees/Gregory had 'Red Select' listed as a synonym for 'Inaba shidare' which was only partially cleared up in the fourth edition with this statement:

Anyway, probably the wrong time and place for a minor rant about mis-naming of cultivars in the trade, (which certainly affects all plants, not just maples), and I wasn't trying to cast doubt on the identity of any of the maples which have been pictured in this thread. I was merely trying to question whether we can be sure our (including mine) 'inaba shidare's are true to type or have been grafted from a totally different clone.

Some reading in old threads from this forum for anyone interested:

Acer palmatum 'Red Select'

Japanese maple name changes (particularly post #6)

 

This is the trouble these days and even the experts can't agree 'totally', ie Vertrees quote.
Red Select' and 'Select Red' are reported to be the same as 'Inaba shidare', but there is some doubt about this.
There is always that word BUT added to a paragraph when talking about ID's.
I wonder if we will ever see a time when there are true identities again. Not meaning to be pessimistic, but tbh I think not. But let's do our best on this forum at least, to rectify as many as we possibly can.

Good posting M.

D

 

5th June 2021 and the sun is shining brightly on my Inaba shidare after a little over night rain.

 

Darkening as the year goes on: 4th June vs 26 June:

 

One of the nicest of the laceleafs and it's hardy. What could be better !!
Yours is looking perfect against the greens Xi.

 

Thank you! I got this and Crimson Queen at roughly the same time, and so far I'm enjoying Inaba Shidare a bit more. Looking forward to seeing how they both get on over the next few years!

 

You will not be disappointed with either tbh Xi.