Here are some photos of a variety of Acer japonicum I am growing. I was photographing trees this evening and noticed this coloring on what appears to be mostly new growth that has begun to mature. While I am seeing a good deal of color in my plants right now as far as reds and oranges-fall-like per se, I found the nearly white margin color to be somewhat unique. The photos are from today, 06/05/05, this green-leaved japonicum gets full sun from the west. I was wondering if anyone had a term for this coloration or if they have seen it before. Can it be attributed to any particular environmental factor? It is almost like pleaching but on the margin instead of the interior. The most noteable observation as the leaf does not appear damaged in any way and the tissue is very intact. MJH
mjh--if this was on a rhodo, I'd think iron chlorosis. I can't remember seeing that on a ***. maple, however. I guess it's possible on almost any plant... The other thing, did you get the 90F plus temps a couple weeks back, that must be stressful on new foliage. Being isolated to this one plant tends to discount that. Hmmm! Glen
Glen, Nice guess. This was a one gallon plant 2 years ago, but small. I put it in a 3 gal tall container with fresh soil. It is starting its 3rd year. While I have fertilized it regularly with various products, the only iron I can think it might have received would be small does from a slow-release granular product, not enough to correct a chlorotic state if it did indeed occur. We did have two days in the 90's but I can recognize that sort of damage as this tissue is truly healthy. Once I get some lager containers, this tree will go into a 7gal next. Maybe that will be better for it. The tree was sold to me a Acer japonicum 'Vitafolium' and after looking at Robert's tree in the gallery, I can see that this is likely the common variety of the tree being sold now, but it is not the largest-leaved form that truly represents a "grape-like" leaf. That is the reason I was hesitant to mention the name initially. Michael
From the pictures, it looks like what happened to my Osakazuki. It’s been that way for about one month and some of such leaves starting to scorch recently. I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
Hi Michael, I have found Vitafolium to be quite variable depending on environmental conditions. All my plants of this cultivar are from the same parent and depending on culture conditions they vary considerably. For instance, in the shade in containers my plants have huge grape-like leaves 8" + across and in the clay ground, in full sun they are much smaller 3"-4". Color varies dramatically too. With regards to differences in cultivar, the leaf shape of my vit seems to be slightly more orbicular than yours. Hard to say from phoos, though. Onto your intitial question. What I see in your picture is that the plant leaves bleached out after being in shade or a nice dose of fert. and then placed in direct sun and/or heat. Sometimes my plants exibit the same coloration when I remove them from the green house and place them in direct sun for even a short period of time. I will try to capture some photos of these situations and post them later. cheers, robert
Here are a few maples that have exibited similar coloring (or discoloring) from a quick sun exposure. Out of the green house into full sun for half a day caused the response. robert
Thanks Robert! The coloring originated after two very warm days, although the tree had been in full exposure for a while. It is also beginning to out grow its pot, so even with regular water, I am not able to meet the water needs of the plant as well as I would like. Being it is the new or terminal growth that shows the coloration, I think a combination of the exposure and inability for the plant to provide adequate moisture probably contributed. I checked the plant today and the coloration has diminished some and I noticed one of the normal green leaves had burned a bit at the edge. Thank for the additional photos of your plants! Michael
I am not sure the coloring reflecting a quick sun exposure or fertilizer. My tree ( the size between 5 - 10 gal ) has been there for 2 years, full sun ( it's like baking during summer) and never been fertilized since I bought and planted it in ground. It seems to me that those discolored leaves do not convert to regular ones, which makes me even think it might be variegation - OK, I dream it.
