As noted in the Spring 2007 Maple Society Newsletter, Aka Kawa Hime is the smallest of the range of coral bark maples. This one is robust but only about 22" tall, still rather young, and this photo was taken May 7, 2007.
This photo was taken October 17, 2007 and shows the lovely autumn color of this small red-barked maple.
I'm unclear why this cultivar isn't more popular. It's a marvelous little elf in the garden and the contrast between the leaves and bark is simply lovely. This photo was taken April 12, 2008.
I would attach a photo of the first Aka kawa hime if I could figure out how.... It stands about 6' to 7' tall. Johnathan Del's Japanese Maples
This is not the first aka kawa hime, but it is of the first few. I have been testing my grandfathers brain, and asked him what one is the very first? He thought at first that it had died, It is not dead, and it is just about the same size as this. We have 3 of them they are all close to the same age and size. 6-7' is what i have seen.
My Grandfather says, That it is 18-22 years old. The other one is older but it is only a little bit bigger My Grandfather has named Japanese Maples, Emerald lace, Lemon-lime-lace, Beni-kumo-no-su, Beni Hoshi, Autumn fire, Dad's Best, Aka-kawa-hime, and two vine maples, Del's dwarf vine maple, Glen-Del-cut-leaf. I think that is all of them. He also has a few more new ones, Cotton Candy, Spring Orange, Patcy, Green Giant, And I am watching one that i will call lileeane's jewel. They are all verry nice, but not yet available.
Hey Johnathan, You're very lucky indeed to have Del as a grandfather. He's a great man. When I first began collecting JMs, Del was patient with me and my zillions of questions, always seemed to have a really must-have tree for me somewhere in his nursery, and he taught me a lot about what to look for when buying unfamiliar cultivars. I'm looking forward to the time when his new cultivars are available. mapledia
I enjoy the time with him he is more like a best friend rather than a grandfather. He has taught me a lot of what he knows, And I will continue to learn where he leaves off, as I am 24 years old. I started transplanting the seedling's from the yard for under stock, then the last 4 or 5 years he has taught me to graft. Pulling orders, and planting the hundreds of variety's, has helped me remember the names. The coolest part is all the tree's he has that are older than I, truly historical. some even close to twice my age. He knows a lot about plant's. He is 78 years old and he makes it out to see his baby's almost everyday.
Johnathan, a couple years ago we purchased one of the seedlings you had been raising, and it's just doing fantastically well. It's a very beautiful cultivar and we're enjoying it. Please tell Del that we appreciate him and what he's done to make the Japanese Maple world a better place. He's been a very important part of making Oregon the center of the world for Japanese Maples, and that is is pretty good legacy. mapledia
