A dwarf upright form of vine maple. When i got it home to repot i discovered it had a bad graft, i hope it recovers.
Knowing Alleyne Cook would never consent to having a plant named after him, I called him. He collected scions from a witch's broom in Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C. Four scions were sent to Vertrees Nursery for propagation and evaluation purposes. Three of those scions took, and the best form was eventually named 'Little Gem', as per Alleyne Cook's request. It is likely the tag simply indicated the source as opposed to a varietal name. Hopefully Douglas Justice (thanks Doug) will be able to confirm whether or not there is in fact an Acer circinatum 'Alleyne Cook', but I have my doubts. Acer palmatum is typically used for rootstock and with this dwarf variety the rootstock grows at a different rate than the scion, as evidenced by your picture. Acer circinatum is native here and readily roots wherever a branch touches the ground. Given the plant roots as easily as it does, you might like to give that a try just in case your plant doesn't recover.
I am not aware of any maple named for Alleyne Cook and I don't recognize the plant in the pictures above. I think Chris's assumption that Alleyne's name was on a tag (e.g., from Alleyne Cook), is probaly correct.
Thanks Doug. Alleyne referred me to Don Martyn, who has been aware of a plant so labeled being available in the retail trade south of the border for about 5 or 6 years. Don and I speculated this case might be similar to the rhododendron Bob's Blue: widely known by this name, but never so registered.
Likewise, Platycladus orientalis 'Van Hoey Smith' is said to be a mistake for P. orentalis 'Variegata'.
yweride, the problems associated with rootstock/scion incompatibility as it pertains to Acer circinatum 'Little Gem' were discussed in this previous post as well as in this one, and it appears to be a common problem with this cultivar. There is also a suggestion witch's brooms do not readily root; so much for my idea of layering, and although it might still be worth a shot, you might like to try grafting your dwarf variety to A. circinatum itself instead.
Thanks for all the information. As you can see in the photo the scon is starting to root out. So, i buried it with soil, fertilized it and stuck it in the greenhouse. Hopefully it roots. This summer i will try grafting it to circinatum rootstock; hopefully with better results than my current mess of a graft.
Peter Gregory lists 'Allyn Cook' in Appendix D on page 299 of the Japanese Maple book. Below are two links that lists the Maple in their inventory. http://www.wildwoodmaples.com/pages/othermaples.html http://www.suncrest-gardens.com/docs/Catalog_2004.pdf The Maple in question does not look the same in its growth habit as the 'Little Gem' I am more familiar with. If three of the original scions took then is it possible that this form may be one of those three forms? Since this apparently is a new acquisition then I'd kind of like to know the sourcing of it. Where did this plant come from and who did your source get the Maple from? One observation that may or may not be right but it seems to me this Maple is already grafted onto circinatum rootstock. Why would you want to graft again on circinatum later and then, if so, what form of circinatum would you try to graft this Maple to? I believe the original scions that did "take" were grafted onto palmatum and later onto japonicum. Jim
In one of the previously mentioned threads, I noted that I have seen huge graft bulges form when A.c. 'Little Gem' was grafted to A. palmatum. 2 years ago I grafted a few 'Little Gem' to some circinatum rootstock, thinking that such a combination would alleviate the problem. Embarrassed to say, I've been paying attention to other things, and those grafts are still sitting in their little 3" utility band pots. They get watered and ignored. Over the weekend I checked them out, and about half are developing the same bulges, even though it's a circinatum-to-circinatum graft. Wondering if it has to do with the nature of the dwarf scions? I did also note that so far, the leaves are much larger than the mature plant that yielded the scions. Will be interesting to see how many years it will take for them to settle down. If nothing else, just add these thoughts to the running "sleuth file" we've been accumulating! Susan
yweride and Susan: from a personal communication with Harold Greer, (see his website): "While we personally do not graft our maples, A.c. 'Little Gem' is grafted on Acer circinatum." And from the Thimble Farms, Salt Spring Island, B.C. website: "We offer 15-25cm tall plants on their own root." It would appear both grafting to Acer circinatum as well as rooting are viable means of propagation of the cultivar A.c. 'Little Gem'. As far as plants labeled 'Alleyne Cook' or 'Allyn Cook', more about this later.
