Did a quick comarison of maples in my garden that have a claim to nicely colored bark in the winter: A.c. Pacific Fire - last year this plant was like a neon sign. This year, mediocre at best. A.p. Ayogi - supposed to have "amazing" green bark in the winter, but it looks like green babyfood to me. We need a better green-barked variety if this is the best there is! A.p. Bihou - so far has lived up the the claim of its stunning yellow-orange bark. The color seems to persist on wood that is several yeard old. A.p. Japanese Sunrise - nice orange-reds. Definitely worth having. A.p. Red Wood - I only have a tiny graft, but the color looks nice so far. A deep, true red. A.p. Sango kaku - Very nice color on new wood. Sadly, this is one of my rattiest-looking trees. Branch die-back and sunscald are so bad on this tree that it has gained no height in the 7 years I've had it planted. Considering the axe for this one. See pics below. All are completely un-retouched. File names are titles.
Nice barks. Out of the colours shown, I prefer the 'Sango kaku', very intense and beautiful. Must also agree with the assessment of 'Aoyagi', the specimen my mother has is a dreary pea-soup colour, and seems to suffer from at least as much branch dieback as any of the coral bark types. Maybe it needs very specific cultural requirements to be at its best, colourwise, who knows? It would be interesting to discuss which coral bark types retain interesting coloured bark for the most years, and which cultural conditions help in this respect. I have a 'Sango kaku' which still has colourful bark on wood over 10 years old (not as bright as the new shoots, obviously), I'll try and get some photographs and post them in a day or two.
I'll put in my 2 cents worth here. Bi hou is stunning. Shows up much better in green backdrops and dark areas than the other coral barks for me. Orange new growth turns to a bright yellow, sometimes almost canary yellow after a couple of years (depending on conditions I assume). We'll see how it holds up to pseudomonas. Japanese sunrise has been good for me too. I think I prefer it over the red barked varieties because it tends to change from orangish to shades of yellow on the older wood before it starts to fade. It typically keeps these bright color tones on 5 to 10 year wood. I've seen some pseudomona problems, but it doesn't seem as succeptable as sango kaku. Beni kawa is another one that is a deep red. It has very little orange in the coloration compared to sango kaku. It doesn't seem quite as bright but may be a bit hardier, although I have seen occasional pseudomonas problems. I don't have an Aoyagi (sp?) yet, but I do have an Ukon. They are very similar from what I gather, and the bark color is also not that spectacular. The bright spring and summer foliage color is more of an interesting feature for Ukon from my perspective. I have never noticed any pseudomonas problems on this one, but I have only studied my specimen as it is not nearly as popular as the red barked cultivars. I have had the same experience with pacific fire as well. However, I moved it to a more sheltered location last winter because it was not doing well. I am not sure how heat and humidity tolerant this cultivar (or species for that matter because Monroe has not impressed me either) is for our southern weather. Sango kaku is...well sango kaku. Beautiful bark color...but weak. Pseudomonas can take down entire trees in some cases. On a side note I am trying to gather up the different forms of Sango kaku to try and sort them out a bit. I am interested to see if all of the forms (as well as Senkaki) are as succeptable to bark problems.
Matt and Maf, Thanks for those thoughts. Matt, I too am a bit skeptical about SK, as there seems to be a great variability in this plant, and I'm not at all sure if I have the actual, true SK. When we were in Oregon at the Maple Society conference we visited some nurseries that had much different looking specimens of SK than mine. Fall colors much more bright and intense, leaves looked a bit larger than mine, etc. I may have a seedling or a graft of a seedling that has been mis-labeled SK by some nursery nimwit (I bought it at a local nursery). Anyone know of a source for the ORIGINAL SK? I would like to compare it to what I have... Thanks!
I think the problems go a bit deeper than even having the original sango kaku. We first must determine whether the tree that is described in the text is actually the old sango kaku. The tree we are wanting might actually not even be the old sango kaku. I suspect we may have the old sango kaku, the Monrovia sango kaku, grafted seedlings or rooted cuttings improperly named sango kaku, or senkaki that got renamed sango kaku because they thought the two were indestinguishable. I am not sure anyone is willing (or capable anymore) to delve into which is which. I am collecting what appears to be different forms of it so I can narrow down which nurseries have which form(s). I don't know if I will ever be able to figure out which form is which, because the books themselves don't even necessarily have it right when we get this deep. We also have to ask whether or not the old form is the best form. In many cases new seedlings are selected out because the original has its flaws, and sango kaku definitely has problems. And once a named variety has taken hold, it is difficult to introduce a better variety (ex: bloodgood). I am also studying Osakazuki/Tai hai forms, Butterfly forms, a few linearilobums, and a few common dissectums thus far. Anyway, if I were to take my chances at an old form of sango kaku, I'd go looking at some of the old nurseries. Iseli has a striking form, but I can't confirm or deny its legitimacy.
As promised a picture of 'Sango kaku', showing the colour on older bark. Not the best photograph, but the light was poor and the camera battery was low. My best estimate is that the wood on the main stem near the base is a minimum of 12 years old, it obviously does not look pristine, but still has what I consider an attractive colour: No idea if it is the original 'Sango kaku', but it was bought directly from a long established nursery that graft all their own plants. Matt, I hope your studies of the various forms go well, please let us know what you find out, it would be most interesting to hear.
As I recall, there was a thread where Jim (Mr. Shep) shared some interesting information on this respect. Concerning bark, I am most interested in understanding how and why bark colours and why it changes colour upon environmental (or other) triggers. My observations are that red colouring (be it in palmatums, circinatums, pectinatums,…) requires plenty of direct sunshine while yellow does not. I have several Bi hoos and their bark is uniformly yellow even in shade. However the same Bi hoo in full sun shows some orange hues in the most exposed branches which could be explained by the presence of some red pigments. While there is plenty of literature on the colouring of leaves, I have not been able to find anything on bark. If anybody has links on that I’ll appreciate it. From the observations above, and by analogy with leaves, one may thus be tempted to conclude that red in bark also comes from anthocyanins and yellows from carotenoids. However this is just speculation from my side and I would like to see some expert information. Gomero
Gomero, I found this brief description of plant pigments that, while not specifically explaining bark pigmentation, does shed some light on the subject: I found the information highlighted above interesting. The colorful pigmentations actually assist in photosynthesis, thus bark coloring may be an adaptation for the plant to synthesize more food than just through chlorophyl in green leaves. The down side of this adaptation is that the bark itself would need to be thinner and more translucent to allow the passage of light. Perhaps this explains the higher rate of damage we see on this type of bark as opposed to thicker, brown barks? Just speculating on all this - I'm not a scientist.
I think we must also consider another important pigment group not mentioned there: anthocyanins. According to Maples of the World, they account for most pink, red, purple and blue coloration in the leaves of maples. They are light dependent, and the color expression is based on the pH of the cell sap in the vacuole, sugar concentrations, and metal-complexing. Another factor that can affect the coloration of coral barks in my experience has been the amount of waxy coating on the stems. This seems to cloud the intense colors giving a greyish cast.
Re: O.T. selective comments The Sango kaku shown in two photos in the second edition Japanese Maples book is the old form of this plant. I believe Mountain Maples got their original Sango kaku from Mr. Vertrees. We have to keep in mind that Monrovia sold the old form Sango kaku long before they had an Oregon growing operation. For Mr. Vertrees to list Senkaki as a synonym name then it can be construed that he never owned Senkaki. I never saw one at Roseburg. An old Maple that is not well known, never really was anything other than a collection plant, is Waka momiji red stem. The Cinnabar Wood Maple also did exist and may still be around in some select collections. Unfortunately, this Maple was sold years ago in Oregon as Corallinum until the bona fide Corallinum came into the Oregon nurseries in the early 90’s and from then the former Maple was sparingly propagated and sold from then on. Real sad as the first sold Corallinum in Oregon to us was the old Cinnabar Wood Maple which is why I brought some into the nursery (5) for us to monitor back in the late 80’s and later compare to our Cinnabar Wood collection plants (2). Don Kleim already had the Hillier Corallinum Maple in his collection long before certain select nurseries in Oregon had plants come in of it or scionwood come in to graft from. We felt that Sango kaku comprised a group of Maples much like we have in Viridis in which several related forms have been selected out and given names by which they are sold by. Senkaki of the three main Maples of the Coral Bark Group has the smallest in size leaves. Waka momiji red stem has the largest sized leaves with Sango kaku in the middle for size. It was our personal belief that Beni kawa in Oregon came about from seedling selections from Waka momiji red stem. The Beni kawa in Japan is a dwarf form, almost a hime, whereas the Oregon Beni kawa can be a semi-dwarf. Not sure if grafting this Maple onto green seedling rootstock made the difference but it could have by way of introducing a standard in the form of a rootstock that may have led to a taller plant. I know this scenario is probably true for Otome zakura in which the grafted plants in Oregon from green seedling rootstocks are much taller than the dwarf forms we had, even when we grafted them as well. We tried to not leave this Maple on its own roots and generally grafted it onto Aureum rootstock instead of a standard form green seedling like what was done most elsewhere. The trunk color of the Senkaki is usually a coral pink color with the advent of sustained cold. Waka momiji red stem will keep much of its grayish trunk color whereas Sango kaku can be both grey in base color with noticeable pink overtone. Bark color on three year old wood is the deeper red on Waka momiji red stem. Sango kaku can have brilliant red where the wood is illuminated by light but can have some green showing in the shaded, backside areas of the wood. Senkaki has coral colored three year old wood with last years new wood being red. No, Aoyagi and Ukon are not similar at all in my mind, one is a standard form and the other is a dwarf form. We do have a problem with Aoyagi in that some people felt the Maple was a semi-dwarf (3m at maturity). I've seen some Aoyagi closer to 6m in height at maturity. Again, there is confusion as to which Maple is the green bark counterpart to Sango kaku. We felt that the Aoyagi we had from Japan was not it just by the sheer size of the leaves in comparison to Sango kaku. The Ukon I've seen in some select nurseries in Oregon may be a closer fit to being the green Coral Bark Maple but the problem here is that few Ukon were ever clean plants to begin with to really be able to monitor them, laden with alboatrum and later with Tight Bark. Aoyagi had been pretty free of Tight Bark but also had some problems in some areas with twig and branch dieback. Generally for us, top growth dieback due to too much direct sun. Even Mr. Vertrees had his Aoyagi somewhat protected from hot late afternoon sun in Roseburg. Ukon cannot take our Summers here without afternoon wind and sun protection. It will just burn up to a crisp. A nice Maple, if we have a clean plant of it when given morning sun only however. Ukon is a much more susceptible plant to both hot and cold wind damage. Jim
Re: O.T. Waka momiji Waka momiji red stem has the ability to yield progeny offspring from seed that do not match up well with the parent. It is entirely possible that several new forms can be derived from this Maple just by germinating seed and growing those seedlings on for later selection and perhaps naming. The old Waka momiji Maple was not stable in that a whole series of plants could be selected out from it just by seed alone. Even when grafting Waka momiji on a green seedling rootstock the progeny could look a whole lot different from the parent plant. For some people this was a good thing, for others it was a veritable nightmare for those that wanted to keep the old form plant intact. A lot of study was done on Waka momiji on the East Coast and notes were compared back and forth to what some people saw on the West Coast as well. Even a variegated form (Waka momiji variegated) came about from seedling selections that did stay variegated. The Waka momiji red stem was an East Coast nursery selection that moved West shortly after it was determined to maintain the red stems. I am not so certain that several of some of the new named Maples may not be Waka momiji red stem form variants. It is quite possible to yield a wide range of plants from the Waka momiji and Waka momiji red stem parent plants. By the way Waka momiji is also a Coral Bark group member plant with a coral grey colored trunk and coral pink colored wood during the Winter. Last years bark can be red in some locations. Herein is the problem with Sango kaku, in that for general purposes some people have lumped both Waka momiji and Waka momiji red stem in with Sango kaku for resale but in actuality the growth habits of the three Maples, aside from leaf sizes and shapes, are not the same. One being a willowy upright that usually stays a semi-dwarf but can become a standard size in overall height in some locations and the others being a round headed upright that are closer to standard dimensions. That is not to say that a Waka momiji cannot yield semi-dwarf and even dwarf form progeny from seed because it has. Whereas Sango kaku to my knowledge has not yielded a dwarf form that remained a dwarf (2meters or less in height upon maturity). Sango kaku is the more stable plant in comparison to the two Waka momiji. Even more genetically stable to the point of yielding closer to true to type seedlings after years of being propagated by grafting. Sango kaku is a very unique Maple in this regard. I was told years ago that Sango kaku, Senkaki and Waka momiji were not related to each other, that each one was of its own heritage. Thus the three main Maples of the Coral Bark group of plants. Sorry I included Otome zakura into the fray. It is not a Coral Bark group plant and was used solely as an example of one Maple that changed in its overall height on us after it had been grafted onto green seedling rootstocks. It is not alone of the dwarf types that changed (grew taller) once they were grafted onto seedling green standard rootstocks. It was not my intention to mess up your very good thread on Winter bark color. I'll leave all of you well enough alone in this thread now. Pardon my intrusion. Jim
Jim, I doubt anyone could consider your contribution an intrusion, let alone messing up the thread. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter. On a small side note you have reassured me regarding the 'Aoyagi' I mentioned above. When this plant suffered top dieback it was positioned on the northeast side of a pond receiving both full afternoon sun and light reflected from the surface of the water. Since being moved to a different location a year ago, only exposed to sun in the morning, it hasn't suffered further dieback and seems to be recovering.
Unfortunately, my example of winter bark is not a good one. Woke up today to find that the deer find the color of Sango Kaku attractive as well
Ughhh! I've had that happen and it makes you want to scream!! Then you want to grab the shotgun! They are nothing but OVERSIZED RATS!
I enjoy the look of the striated bark on this maple which is a seed grown plant, about six years old, and am hoping it will remain distinctive with age: Japanese maples grown for coral bark or rough/pine bark are well known, but can anyone recommend any cultivars that have been selected specifically for attractive striated bark? If any are available that are significantly better than the one shown I would buy them in a heartbeat. I have seen a couple of references online to "snake bark palmatums", but have not heard of such cultivars being offered for sale or described in the popular maple books. P.S. hope I haven't taken the thread off topic, it is still about bark.
Not sure about the palmatums Maf, but the snake bark maples are brill. I have 'Serpentine' which is progressing well
Thanks Sam, I love the snake barks too, but most are too big for my needs. With its smaller leaves 'Serpentine' might fit the bill nicely, definitely have to have a look at one next time I am at a good nursery or arboretum.
There was a thread last year on snakebarks: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=34438 Coming back to this thread, I would like to ask those of you who are growing coral barks, yellow barks or snakebarks in shade or half-shade to report on color quality. Since there is little written on this, we could all improve our understanding on the cultural needs. Gomero