Shikage ori nishiki is especially nice to watch in the spring because the new growth is green, quickly turning purple-red, the result being a handsome but rather muted multi-colored spring plant. As the leaves mature into summer, the entire tree becomes a bright reddish brown before going orange in autumn. This photo was taken April 6, 2007.
This is the same tree, but this photo was taken May 5, 2007. It's a very interesting tree, I think, moving from the subtle pastels of the spring in to a more intense color in early summer. It's interesting all through the growing seasons.
Again, this is the same plant, photo taken July 10, 2007 when it was 109˚ here in Oregon. Shikage ori Nishiki maintains this summer color until October when the leaves turn mostly orange and orange/green with either yellow or yellow-green veins.
