I saw an A. palmatum cultivar I had never heard of in a nursery the other day - Dr. Seuss. Apparently I am in good company, as Vertrees doesn't list it nor does van Gelderen. Has this nursery been over doing the green eggs and ham, or has anyone actually heard of this cultivar?
Dr. Seuss That's a new one on me. Maybe they confused it with a Brugmansia. It happens all the time...yeah.hehe. 'Dr. Brown' and 'Dr. Tilt' are Japanese Maples. Maybe the tag was unitelligible and said" Dr.jo;pfjas" so they looked briefly on on invoice and saw " Dr. Seuss" listed. It may have been associated with a Brugmansia but they overlooked that fact and attributed it to the maple. It could be 'Dr. Brown' or 'Dr. Tilt' but those may have been on a different invoice or it could be a new introduction but I like my first hypothesis. Maybe we should consult the Lorax.
Hey Bill, I was wondering also. My girlfriend was looking for some different cultivars for my birthday at a nursery near us. She asked if they had a 'Johnies Pink', they told her they would check. Well they called back saying they didnt have one. But they offered her a 'Dr Seuss'. Very strange, you just now saw a listing also. I will go to the nursery and see if i can get some more information and let you know. Mike
Dr. Seuss = Theodore Geisel, famous children's author. Lived in an upscale apartment next to my grandparents on Coast Boulevard in La Jolla, CA when I was about 5. We were cautioned not to make a lot of noise in the vestebule lest he be disturbed. I strongly suspect it was Grandmother who disliked noisy children, not the good doctor. I'll concur about Dr. Seuss being a brugmansia, but I'll also note that simply because a cultivar isn't listed by Vertrees or Gregory, doesn't mean anything anymore. As with angel trumpets, plumeria/frangipani, tetraploid daylilies and many other large-display-of-variability plants that have become very popular, people are selecting and naming them right and left. This website actually lists the name Acer palmatum 'Dr. Seuss', although there is no description and no picture. http://ganshuku.cool.ne.jp/20_08getkaede.html Leads one to think perhaps more than one person believes this cultivar exists. For now, I would go to the nursery where your tree was obtained and ask them if they will reveal their wholesale source, or if they will double-check their inventory records or vendor invoices to verify the correct name. Susan
Hi, I did finally get a Acer palmatum that was labeled as 'Dr Seuss'. I went back to the nursery last summer. They did have one, but the understock was about 24 inches, while the scion was barely 6 inches or so. That why they said they didnt have one, they didnt want to sell me that. But since i knew them well, i went ahead and got it for 5$. I clipped back the understock, and have babied the scion up to a healthy state. As mentioned, these cultivars are starting to come out and an ever increasing rate. Without a strict registration process, any nusery can now try and boost sells by giving a new name to almost anything. At least some of the newer ones are not just another red 'Bloodgood' type as were coming out the last several years or so, LOL. As Mr. Shep has mentioned before, i think we must value our trees for themselves as individuals, not caring as much about the cultivar name, but the characteristics we love about each one. With that said, i will describe what my tree looks like. The leaves are quite varied and disfigured. After looking at them, the name certainly fits. I woudl describe it as a basic green palmatum leaf in varying difigured states. Towards the smaller size for a common green maple. leaves averaging 1-2 inches. They are a slightly more serated than the typical, but not by much. Some leaves can be quite different and have say one large section, while some have a sickle shape. Smaller leaves have some saw tooth edges. A little yellow color in the leaves around viens and a small amount of the leaves are a slightly variegated lighter green, but not much. New growth is a light yellow. The growth appears to be twiggy, and it looks like it would end up a being a bush type. Being so immature, it is tough to tell much more about its growth pattern. I will take some better phots this weekend, but here are a couple i have on the pc already. The ifrst one is a full shot, while the second and third show a more closeup of the leaves. The second one show a abnormal leaf with one large lobe, and some of the other typical leaves of the cultivar. The third one shows some new growth and one of the slightly varigated lighter green areas on a leaf. Mike
Hi Mike, I have looked at the picture of your maple a couple of times tonight trying to figure out what it reminds me of and it has finally come to me--Beni shi-en and to a lesser degree Hoshi kuzu. I thought Hoshi kuzu first. Not that it has much impact on this thread, but I felt like sharing. You have done a nice job with that maple so far. Lets see it when it is older. Michael
Hey Micahel, Yes i thought of using 'Beni Shien' in my description. The sickle shaped leaves resemble it alot. And now that you mentioned it, the variegation kind of resembles it also. It is just so inconsistent. Only a few have variegation, and the pattern is very random. I havent had the pleasure of seeing a Hoshi up close, since i lost mine this spring, it was just barely leafing out. Guessing at what is just immature and what is typical is almost immpossible at this stage. It looks like it is going to be more of a shrub type. I will show some closeup this weekend, just got a macro lense for my camera. Mike
Without a strict registration process, any nusery can now try and boost sells by giving a new name to almost anything. Does anybody care to recall here the current, existing registration process (if any) for Acer cultivars?
I have seen the Ap. Dr. Seuss before. I belive that is a registered culivar introduced by Bucholz & Bucholz Nursery here in Oregon. What nursery did you see it at?
Hi, unfortunatley i dont live in the mecca of maples like you guys in the northwest, LOL. So it is propably not a nursery you have heard of. The nursery is located just northeast of atlanta, GardenWright. They have ~25 cultivars or so. I am not sure where there source is from, but i would imagine somewhere out where you are. I will Ask next time i am in. Let me know if you find any more information or if the trees you see match the one i have. As Gomero asked, i would really like to know what registration is available for maples. What if any are the requirements. A mentioned here and in books, alot of people have so called registered names, but no real study or time period has been done on them. No studies of how they grow in different sub climates, etc. We have alot of red 'Bloodgood' type and green dissectum cultivars with minor differences. Some of them might be justified, like a good red that holds its colors here in the south for instance, but others are just to get nurseries another selling point. It would be great if we could get a consortium of nurseries together to really work with the maple society and others to work out strict scientific registration process. I for example have over 300 seedlings, and I would love to have some procedure to follow if i ever find something unique. I guees for now i will just try and documument with pictures and evaluate for 3-4 years or so. I guess if i ever find anything unique, i now have friends in the northwest and west to help evaluate grafts. Mike
Well, Dr. Seuss must have come from some origin that Yano feels is valid. It is now nicely pictured at ganshuku: http://ganshuku.cool.ne.jp/23_1dr_seuss.html Would be nice to know the origin. I still like Hoshi kuzu as the second picture is greatly similar to the leaf shape of Hoshi. Who knows! MJH
Yes, like i said before it is from Bucholz Nursey. This picture was taken last summer at his nursery according to text below the picture.
