Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost'

Discussion in 'Acer palmatum cultivars (photos)' started by mjh1676, Aug 31, 2004.

  1. Maple_Lady

    Maple_Lady Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Hi Mapleman,

    Yes, Purple Ghost does green out in the summer which is too bad. The color of the spring growth and later in the fall are its best attributes. Sam
     
  2. mapleman77

    mapleman77 Active Member

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    Hi Sam,

    Thanks for the info. It still looks awesome but is not as beautiful as when you sent it to me!

    David
     
  3. Cirque

    Cirque Active Member

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    I never get tired of looking at PG. It changes week to week, and its amazing what different lighting conditions does to it.

    Cirque
     

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  4. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Here is mine (just 6 months with me) in "fall time" (well, "South Texas Autumn" to be more exact). It's growing new leaves! Very nice..
     

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  5. winterhaven

    winterhaven Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    I bought a Purple Ghost yesterday and picked it up today. I have to share the day's journey with you, it was a bit ridiculous.

    It started when I volunteered to pick up from the repair shop Hubby's street legal dirt bike that he uses to commute to work. I managed to get the errands done and the bike picked up with just enough time to stop by the nursery on the way to work. I've called ahead so they have the tree tied up and ready to load. When we load the tree I realize that because of the motorbike I can't put the tree's box all the way at the front of the truck bed so the top of the tree is sticking out a good three and a half feet. But we tie a red tape on the red tree and off I go.

    I pull up to the skilled nursing facility at which I work in his large truck with a motor bike sticking up in the back and an eight foot tall tree laying down with the end poking out over the tailgate. Because the tree extends so far past the lift gate I'm worried someone will drive by and thwack my tree. When I see a nurse in the parking lot I conscript her into helping me set the tree upright in the bed. Up into the bed of the truck I climb (in my scrubs, I'm a nurse's aid) and wrestle the tree up and now it really looks odd and BIG.

    The plan was for Hubby to bring the car to my work and take away the truck and its contents. But he had to go into work himself. So at 10:30 at night, when I finally got to go home, I also got to climb back up in the truck bed and maneuver the tree back into transport position.

    When I do get home, Hubby is involved in online poker and I'm too impatient to wait for his help. Back up into the truck bed I go, scrubs and all, and get the tree upright. With the help of a flashlight I then got it onto a garden cart and drug it relatively close to its target location. I got the tree untied and told Hubby he had to come see it. He opened the blinds, I hit it with the flashlight, he looked. When I came inside he said, "Looks nice. I'll have to see it tomorrow." What, the flashlight wasn't good enough? :)
     

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    Last edited: Jun 21, 2009
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  6. Maple_Lady

    Maple_Lady Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Hi Winterhaven,

    What a great story. Thanks for sharing and thanks for sharing the pic of that beautiful Purple Ghost specimen.
     
  7. eq72521

    eq72521 Active Member

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    Winterhaven, Fun Story.
    I bet my 3 year old 1 gallon Purple Ghost will take 20 years to get that big in Zone 5b.
     
  8. xman

    xman Active Member

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    Winterhaven,

    Beautiful tree!!
    I have a 1 gallon Purple Ghost that is amazing during spring, I can only image how amazing a tree of this size would be. Are you going to plant this in the ground, or keep it as is?
    Is the cost of a tree this size in the $hundreds or $thousands?

    thanks,
    xman
     
  9. winterhaven

    winterhaven Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Thank you all for the compliments. I'm pretty excited.

    It's going into the ground as soon as more hedge gets removed.

    Re: price, I paid full price for this tree - which is unusual for me. I just had to have it. And it's an Iseli, which usually means more expensive but I got this for $320. Which, while spendy, I hoped was good for the cultivar. I saw a three year graft (I'm guessing) at another local nursery for $79, so I thought for the size....

    The same nursery at which I bought the Purple Ghost has an Iseli Ukigumo listed for $380 that they said I could have for $325 that had the most spectacular cloud expression. It isn't as tall as the Purple Ghost but the caliper size is bigger. I noticed the "floating cloud" effect from about 30 feet away through other trees. I really wanted to buy it but I just bought a six foot Ukigumo (but much less caliper and not as white) so my Ukigumo spot is taken. And now after Peaches and this Purple Ghost I'm running out of money! LOL

    K4 is right, life is way more fun when you're crazy!
     
  10. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Purple Ghost. Spring 2010, with still tender leaves. Spectacular color. I put it against a Viridis as a background. I think is a nice combination.
    Nelran
     

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  11. winterhaven

    winterhaven Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    For whatever reason my Purple Ghost really struggled after I put it in the ground. I planted it pretty late in the summer; maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, I babied it until it recovered and then I moved it (after leaf fall) to a different location where I would see it out my kitchen window. But it didn't provide as much screening of the neighbor's house as I would wish. I kept telling myself to be patient, that it would fill in. But then inspiration struck and I moved it next to a Yellow Frisia Locust in the triangular bed at the entrance of our driveway. It should get enough sun there to contrast nicely with the Locust's yellow summer color. At least, I hope.

    But then I didn't have a PG in that kitchen window lineup. And in the back of my mind I couldn't stop thinking about the one I saw at Charlie's (amazingmaples) that was massive.

    Guess what I put in the ground today! First I dug out my 'Amber Ghost' and moved it two spots over. Then I dug out my 'Autumn Moon' and moved it one spot over. Then I dug a massive hole (about six feet wide by 5 feet) for the new baby. Then I called hubby and persuaded him to come home on his lunch hour and together we managed push the tree on the hand truck across the yard (it almost broke the dolly) and then role the tree into the hole. After he left I pulled off some clay, amended the soil mixture, and filled the hole back in shovel full by shove full. I'm so sore. But it was worth it.

    Thank-you, Charlie! I love my new trees.

    The first picture shows how it looks from outside my kitchen window and the second is just the tree. I placed it next to an 'Aureum' (palmatum) also thanks to Charlie.
     

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    Last edited: Apr 10, 2010
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  12. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Its a nice spot that you have there, Winter. Congrats for a job well done... (and the beatiful trees too).

    Nelran
     
  13. winterhaven

    winterhaven Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Thanks, nelran.

    FYI, for others thinking about where to plant their PG's. The one I moved to the triangular bed is now uphill from me and yesterday the setting sun streamed through the leaves like spun rubies or fire or I don't even know what to call it. If I can get a photo I will, but so far when I pick up the camera a cloud comes out. Or the battery on the good one is dead. Or some other thing.

    Edit: added photo taken 4/14/10 (from left to right 'Purple Ghost', 'Orange Dream', and 'Aratama').

    Edit 2: added leaf photo
     

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    Last edited: Apr 16, 2010
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  14. mapledia

    mapledia Active Member

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    As I'm sure you all know, Purple Ghost is a seedling from Shigatatsu sawa and was probably pollinated by Kasigi yama. I don't know about you, but I always look for seedlings around the base of this tree. Some are quite interesting, and who knows? Maybe we have the next "ghost" growing as a baby in our gardens?
     
  15. mattlwfowler

    mattlwfowler Active Member Maple Society

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    I have a handfull of nice reticulated seedlings, but I'm not sure if any of them are distinctly different from the other varieties already available. It is fun to grow them on and see how they differ though.
     
  16. amazingmaples

    amazingmaples Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I have to say it is fun to have all of them together, aka shigitatsu sawa, kasagi yama, purple ghost and my favorite amber ghost. I am amazed at how big of differences there are in these trees. Last year I bought a 10' tall Purple Ghost which is huge and I was not so impressed with its color but this year the tree is incredible. I walk by it a couple times a day and everytime I stop and look at the leaves. I like its growing habit much better than a few of the others since it grows more upright with far less crazy branches.
     
  17. mattlwfowler

    mattlwfowler Active Member Maple Society

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    Yes Purple ghost and Gold reticulated have been the most upright growers of the bunch for me so far. My darker form of Kasagiyama seems a bit more upright too, but my lighter form is very weepy and wild.
     
  18. amazingmaples

    amazingmaples Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    For me it is fun because all of my ghost have come directly from Buchholz and are some of the biggest they have let out of their hands. I have two kasagiyama from buchholz both are a wonderful red and i would say are not an easy tree to prune, they are not as wild as the aka shigitatsu sawa but they do have a curving downward growth. One of the many purple ghost I had is in winterhaven's garden, it has a great upright shape. I have found the Purple Ghost to be aggressive at producing upright branches. Since I am an aggressive pruner I take about about 1/3 of all of them if not more.
    I really like the Purple Ghost and even if it greens out in summer, the color of in spring is well worth having in a garden. One catch to it, make sure to get a quality grafted tree. I still have several small purple ghost I bought off ebay and they do not compare to the real tree.
     
  19. mattlwfowler

    mattlwfowler Active Member Maple Society

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    My purple ghost is starting to show its purple color a bit now on the ends of the branches while the interior continues to show the pinkish color with burgundy veins. Olsen's frosted strawberry has taken over as the brightest pink right now over Purple ghost and both forms of Kasagiyama, but it leafed out a bit later. I had been a bit disappointed in some of my younger reticulates in the past couple of years, but this year they have all showed out except for first ghost and tiger rose.
     
  20. MarkVIIIMarc

    MarkVIIIMarc Active Member

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    Here's mine earlier today.

    Its from Forest Farm. Went into the ground a few weeks back. Was already leafed out, ahead of the local maples. We didn't have any late frosts so no harm. Even though the ground is still soft from last year, this spring has been dry. Been watering it, 1/2 gallon or so of water every 3 or 4 days w/o rain.

    The purple really stands out, while recovering from ACL replacement (darn hockey) I've spent plenty of time looking out the window at spring passing me by. All 1 foot of this fella really sticks out! And my grass wasn't even mowed so low lol.

    Am I guessing right from mine's progress that "Purple Ghost" might just grow a foot or so a year?
     

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  21. mapledia

    mapledia Active Member

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    Hi MarkVIII, good choice of getting Purple Ghost, especially from Forest Farm (about 8 miles from where I live). You will love this plant. Sorry about your ACL injury, but I'm impressed that someone in St. Louis is playing hockey! Great sport!!! A hundred years ago I played it with my brothers and their friends. Hope your recovery is going well. Purple Ghost changes color throughout the year, so I'm posting what mine looked like on May 19, 2009 to give you something to look forward to.
    mapledia
     

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  22. MarkVIIIMarc

    MarkVIIIMarc Active Member

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    mapledia, that is pretty darned good looking May foliage! Hope mine turns out so well, thanks.
     
  23. winterhaven

    winterhaven Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    My PG from Charlie is really coming along. Every time I look out my kitchen window it takes my breath away. And I was finally able to get a photo of the way the light streams through the leaves. It's simply fabulous to walk under this tree and look up at these gorgeous leaves. Yummy.

    First picture: kitchen window angle
    Second picture: from the yard
    Third picture: self explanatory
     

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  24. D97x7

    D97x7 Contributor 10 Years

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    Here is my Purple Ghost taken april/may 2010, I'm very proud of this little tree as its quite hard to find here in england.
     

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  25. amazingmaples

    amazingmaples Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    this color of the leaf looked great, it is on the north side of the tree and gets no sun.
     

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