Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'

I have never had good luck getting a good fall color on any of my AS 'Aureum'. Here is what is typical with my trees.

 

Nothing like the spring color of an Aureum. It has such a rich color.

 

If you compare to a previous post, you can see I lost a lot of the tree. I've since moved it to a more sheltered location and have high hopes that the tree will be happy.

 

Still one of my favorite trees and here is some of its great fall colors just before it turns its usual brown.

 

Re: Acer palmatum 'Aureum'

Love the spring color!

 

This tree absolutely glows! Pictured here (in my opinion) outshining the bloom of hawthorn and lilacs in the background:



I wouldn't normally expect to still see flowers at the start of June but the spring in England has been very late this year:



The beautiful full figured leaves:

 

In reply to 'MAF' statement of the Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' glowing i must concure on this 100% please see the picture of my 'SA' taken this evening at 21 45 pm after a lovely sunny day (something we don't get very often over here) also stated spring is very late this year and most of my maples are only recently bursting into life at last!!!!

The AS used to be planted at the side of the Burgundy lace but was begining to get blocked out,so he was dug up in the winter of 2012 and placed in front of the BL, and now he really stands out and positvely glows all day so it will be interesting to see how much growth will be obtained this year and see if the sun affects the leafs with excess scorching ? One thing i have noticed with the majority of my maples is the amount of new growth they seem to have all put on since last year maybe it's because of our very late spring this year any one any ideas?

 

Here is my 'Aureum' in the Raw, what I mean is no photo editing for these pictures (other than to put on my copyright). Every season I try to capture it's pure yellow color and this season it happened to be in flower too. The color is so pure it's like nothing else in person and it's always a struggle to capture that color on camera.

In the first picture Acer palmatum 'Shaina' is the burgundy foliage in the background.

 

Just wondered if anyone has the same experience as me with this maple.
About 4years ago I bought one of the many triple trunked examples that suddenly appeared over here.A lot of Aureum for the money but on hindsight not such a good form to have.
Anyway,I used to keep it in quite a shady spot,it didn't grow much and would shed the most shaded branches readily.The last 2years I've been giving it a lot of spring sunshine then moving it at the end of May to catch afternoon sun only...in the process it turns the tree 180 degrees WRT to sun.However the tree still shuts down branches as before even though up 'til the repositioning they were getting loads of sun shown by the reddening of the leaves.
Whilst it makes sense for a tree to shed unproductive limbs,I'm surprised this does it so quickly especially as it's not known to like too much sun anyway and by no means are the shed branches in deep shade...still quite bright light and even dappled sun under it's own canopy.
Is this a trait anyone else has seen?

 

Hi,

Here is my tree that is over 15 years old. I got it about 8 or 9 years ago, and it grew smaller every year in the beginning as it lost branches adjusting to the Texas heat and summers of 110 degree F. It has finally stabilized over the last 3 or 4 years and has not lost any branches. This year, it is doing exceptionally well in full Texas sun on the south side of the house, as I lost both my shade trees to the ice storms in winter (one fell down, and the other has died from fire blight).

We are in the mid nineties every day and burning hot, but I am not seeing any scorching on the leaves. Hoping to build a shade cover or something over it before the 110 F heat kicks in around August.


Regards,
xman

 

Wow!...in full Texas sun,kinda condradicts everyone's beliefs about this tree.There's something to be said about size and age obviously.
My one does quite a good impression of 'Autumn Moon' and that's with just a few hours of UK sun! However if shaded afterwards it returns to green.

 

Houzi,

I am surprised too on how well it has been doing in the full sun this year. It has always been under the shade tree and since the loss of the shade tree, I had no option. I do not want to push my luck any longer, so I have build a shade structure over it today. I also have an Abigail Rose, Autumn Moon and a Geisha in the same full sun exposure and no scorch on them either. Now all of them go under the shade structure.

xman

 

Here's a photo of a stunning specimen I saw last week at Wakehurst Place in the UK.

 

Wow! what is a beautiful tree. I bet it will be gorgeous this coming falls. Any chance you can return and capture more falls photos?.
Thank you for sharing.

 

Sorry, Atapi, but I won't be in the UK in the autumn. Maybe one of the British members on the forum can visit Wakehurst Place and take a photo of it.

Samara

 

Great photo. Thanks for sharing!

 

This spring:

 

They always light up your garden , here's one of mine from the weekend this was the second JM i ever bought all those years ago , grows nicer every season !!

 

2018:

It looks like the trunk isn't growing as quickly as all the branches...looking kind of top heavy.

 

Looks great! The trunk will thicken up (catch up with the top) with age. Probably in another 5 years.

The chartreuse bleeding heart, Japanese painted fern (maybe ghost fern, hard to see), and dark coral bells make a cool color combination!

 

Word of advice with Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'.

This tree heals very slowly and the bark and trunk is prone to rot when a branch is removed, especially as the tree ages.
-Any new branch that forms that will be a problem long term remove it early in the first season of growth.
-Consider shortening a branch to redirect it to avoid crossing or conflicting branches; instead of removing the branch at the trunk.
-If you must remove a disease or dying branch be sure your pruners are very sharp and clean. Do not damage the branch collar. Make sure you hold your pruners so that the blade faces the trunk and branch collar, while the guide remains on the branch that you are removing. This way you get a clean cut at the collar and if the guide does any damage it's done to the branch that you are removing.

-Inspect the branch collar to ensure no damage, cracking, or separation of the bark has occurred. If it has damage, this is how water gets in behind the bark and causes rot. Over winter the water will freeze, expand, and cause further damage under the bark.

-If you notice damage after the cut, I recommend using tight bond 3 waterproof wood glue to seal the cut especially in areas where the bark has separated.

-If branch collar looks good, be sure to follow up in a few weeks to reinspect. Follow up again in the fall to make sure the bark and collar are free of further dieback, cracks, or separation. Consider using the outdoor waterproof glue to keep water out and prevent frost crack.

-Due to this trees difficulty to recover from branch removal, I would avoid fall and winter pruning. Try to prune only on new wood / growth during mid to late Spring. This is especially important as your tree ages.

If you are loosing branches, have wilting branches; it's probably occuring down stream of a removed branch. Check the area around the removed branch and odds are there is rot or bark separation around that area of the tree.

Be proactive and try to avoid branch removal with this variety, especially with age and you will keep your tree healthy and looking great.

When shopping for this variety in larger sizes, be sure to inspect the main trunk or trunks and avoid trees with heavy branch removal or signs of rot around areas of removed branches.

 

This largish 'Aureum' at the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh shows the fantastic impact of this cultivar in the garden. I've had one in a pot since 2012, and it is finally large enough (in a 20l) to plant out next spring.

 

Beautiful picture! Thanks for sharing!

Here is our 'Aureum'. I am never satisfied with any photos of it as it's hard to capture the glowing color. To the eye in person it's foliage is like a yellow highlighter!

Notice Mango our parrot has a great view of the garden every morning. He keeps the squirrels in check and sounds the alarm call anytime a hawk flies over or a cat wanders into our yard. He is always keeping the local birds safe and has a sharp eye on the garden. The second half of his day is spent flying around the house and laughing at the TV or singing along with music.

 

Our first JM, planted 7 years ago. I remember being so on edge after planting it that Fall ie some had told me that this maple would have difficulty making it through any trying winter we might have.

Well in the 7 intervening years it has never faltered and it is in fact getting a bit too big for the location.

Here it is as of today:

 

This year 2020, is by far the best for my Shirasawanum's. My Aureum has outdone itself with wonderful Summer colour. It is planted in a position to protect it from afternoon sun as all my Shirasawanum's are. These are my photos for Spring and Summer.