Identification: Help in ID of JM

Discussion in 'Maples' started by mgaspay, Aug 20, 2010.

  1. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Hello, I need help in identifying this ***. maple cultivar that I acquired as a 7-years old bonsai. It's owner did not keep records and can not remember what cultivar it is. It has fully dissected leaves -- so dissected that each part even has a petiole and are all in one plane. I researched and the closest I found that exhibits this character (separate petioles) is Hagromo and Koshi Mino. I looked at the picture of Shigure Bato and it may also be related. The leaf color in summer is light green and it is now turning salmon pink as you can see in the photos. The bonsai tree is about 10" x 12".

    Thanks
     

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  2. CSL

    CSL Active Member

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    The photos you have posted are pretty small, and really don't show enough leaf detail.

    If you post a large image of a leaf I'll see if I can spot anything similar in one of the books I have.

    Cheers,
    CSL
     
  3. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Here is a zoomed in photo of a leaf cluster.
     

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  4. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    maybe Hagoromo :-)
     
  5. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Thanks Alex. I was also thinking Hagromo, but I have not really seen one, only pictures of it. Besides this specimen I have have been in bonsai, so the leaves may have grown differently. Looking at pictures of Hagromo, I see that my specimen has its leaves more on one plane than Hagromo and also its leaf parts are wider (like in a Maiku Jaku which I have) compared to Hagromo which are narrower.
     
  6. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    your maple isn't in good health,i presume for the musk arount the root system,in this conditions leaves, not equal to the pics available in letterature ,i suggest remove the musk and prune a little,after use pine bark around root system ;)
     
  7. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Thank you Alex. I really appreciate the advice. I'm new at this thing and am hesitant in scraping that "musk" (which to me seems moss) around the base of the trunk. The tree is indeed having difficulty as new leaves sprout but then dry out, though it is in a part-shade area and the bonsai pan watered every other day. The new sprouting leaves have a nice yellow-green with pink tone colors. It is also delicately fern-like in form. But many twigs are drying out. I will replace the green moss with pine bark as you suggested. Did I get that right?

    Thanks
     
  8. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    ,ok!another control,about root system,remove the pot because that the root maybe are roll,if yes change the pot with one more big .. read in faq "how to plant a maple":) but if you have another questions ask!no problem :)
     
  9. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    The previous owner told me the tree had just been repotted (and root pruned) this early spring, that's why he says the tree is showing signs of stress and is just starting to recover. I will look at the roots this winter dormancy to see how they have done.

    Thanks again. I am happy to be getting a response from a Japanese Maple Society member.
     
  10. CSL

    CSL Active Member

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    mgaspay - I flipped through Vertrees 4th edition and as other have pointed out, Hagoromo seemed a reasonable possibility. The other possible match that I noticed was 'Momenshide' on page 190 - some of the notes:

    Red spring growth
    Prominent Veins
    Bright Yellow fall color

    Contrast this with Hagoromo's Pink spring growth and light yellow / orange fall color, to point you in the right direction if it is either of these.

    Regards,
    CSL
     
  11. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Thanks CSL. I ordered Vertrees 4th edition and should arrive within a week. But I did see a photo of Momenshide from Kigi Nursery, and it does look a lot similar to what I have (fully dissected, fernleaf shape and yellow-green w/ pink tone color). Momenshide, per Kigi Nursery is a sport of Hagoromo. My plant definitely seems to belong to either Hagoromo or Momenshide.
     
  12. timnichols

    timnichols Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    This type of maple in fact one of my newer favorites. It resides within the acer palmatum sessilifolium grouping. Unfortunately, this may be as close to the name as you can accurately get. Koshimino, Hagoromo, and Momenshide are very similar. Hagoromo is almost the same plant as Koshimino, except Koshimino is more vigorous.

    The problem lies in the fact that all the maples off the sessilifolium grouping can produce seedlings that look very similar to it's parent but have different characteristics. I have about 30 seedlings in the sessilifolium grouping off a A.p. 'Hagoromo' that I am watching myself. This means that it could possibly be a seedling and not a cultivar. I would personally label the tree as acer palmatum sessilifolium group.
     
  13. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Thanks for your info Tim. I'd like to find out what happens to your experiment with the seedlings. I am attaching more photos of my JM. As you may notice the tree is just recovering from being repotted and root-trimmed. But the emerging leaves are yellow green and the leaf lobes are totally separated form each other. I have a 2-year old Koshi Mino and the leaf lobes are narrower than my unknown JM and are attached to the branch in different planes. As you may see in the photos, the leaf lobes are all in one plane and much wider in my unknown JM.

    mgas
     

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  14. mgaspay

    mgaspay Member

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    Here's more photos.
     

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