There's obviously many people here fanatical about maples.I just thought it would be interesting to share what it was that originally got you 'hooked'. Was it hereditary or to do with work?..was it accidental or something you'd heard?...perhaps an interest in Japan or seeing photos of Japan...or was it a sight of something you'll always remember? For me it was the latter.Just a few years ago I visited my local garden centre,one dull autumn's day.Took my usual route round the,by now,pretty bare looking centre.Something caught my eye,over at the shaded section,something shining bright pink amongst all this bare woodiness.It was a tree...a bit late for flowering I thought.I approached it with increasing curiousity....I stopped dead....thought 'NO WAY!'....it's a pink tree!...impossible I thought. On reading the label it was a fairly mature Acer Palmatum 'Beni Otaki'....I knew nothing(and still don't)of this species then,but was sure as hell gonna find out. The following spring I bought my first 3 maples,and one day I hope I will have a similar experience in my own garden.....but I'll never forget that pink tree.
This is my first post on this site but I thought this topic would work as a good introduction so here I go: What got me hooked was going to a barbeque about 8 years ago. I was a new homeowner back then and I was just starting to tackle putting my own stamp on my yard. So I was really starting to take a look around at plants and landscaping for the first time ever. The host of the barbeque had a very cool (but now I realize very common) 'Crimson Queen' in a half wine barrel. My interest was piqued immediately and he was enthusiastic about sharing what he knew about them. Shortly thereafter I was buying the all-too common cultivars myself but I quickly learned that there was a whole world of Acers out there . . . and I've never looked back. What has kept my interest in the intervening years is their relative versatility. They make great landscape trees. But they also do well in container gardening or as bonsai - both of which I'm interested in. I like that they provide year-round interest especially when they are older and have interesting structure. And although growing them can be a challenge in my climate, I find them immensely satisfying as they remind me of my upbringing in the PNW.
Like most people, I thought Japanese maples were either red or green and either lace leaf or not until about 5 years ago when google and ebay introduced me to a whole new world. I loved them when I knew little about them but went 'crazy' when I started learning more about them and the incredible diversity within Japanese maples. I also learned 5 years ago that you can go broke quickly collecting them and admiring them 'close up'. This led to learning about maple propogation and 4 years ago I was arrogant enough to try to graft them. After years of failure, I finely got better at it and succesfully grafted around 600 last year and will graft somewhere around 800 this year. My collection includes 130 cultivars and I have also started raising them from seed around 2 years ago for both grafting root stock and observation. I am very fortunate to live in an area influenced by Harold Johnston which means and their are many maple enthusiasts and many large collections and nurseries in my surrounding area. And the addiction continues... Justin
Mine was accidental, was visiting a nursery looking for foundation plants as I going to redo the landscape in front of my house. Saw a couple of nice laceleafs that I thought would make nice focal points, but they were really expensive, at least then (I had never paid more than $20 for any plant till then). Later found out that there was a maple nursery at about a 50 miles drive, went there that weekend and ended up buying a crimson queen, viridis and a fireglow. These were 2 gallon trees and still costed almost $50 each.Over the next few weeks I grew to like them so much that I did not want to plant them in the ground incase I had to move. I think this point in time June 2004 was when I was officially hooked. I still have these 3 trees, and thanks to ebay and online sellers, I have about 40 trees, all in containers incase I have to "move" (which I have once). A small backyard and the Texas heat has kept my addition contained. I am on the road a lot and get to see them for a week every 15 days, thankfully drip irrigation tied into my sprinkler system has kept them hydrated in the 100 degree Texas heat. Some of my trees are getting to 20 gallons, but a lot of then are at 3 gallons. I have grown to like smaller stocky trees, and keep them pruned regularly. The urge to buy more is strong, but I am keeping it under control....one day I may break down and give in again.... xman
Hey Justin,that's quite an operation you've got going! I've just started my first summer grafting,(small operation)using more mature wood as current growth not ready yet. They've just started to bud out but I wonder if you could tell me wether it's best to keep them warm or cool? I've been keeping them at 75+ as our summer is struggling around the hi 60's but not sure what's best.Also have been leaving a couple of leaves on,good idea or doesn't matter?...cheers
houzi- keep in mind i graft 100-200 for me and the rest are for a local nursery and i only do as many as i can on a part time basis during the summer. I am not sure I understand your question entirely as far as what you are keeping warm and cold. The roostock, scion or grafted plant? If you are talking grafted plant, you are fine if it is growing and has an active metabolism. How cold are your nights? What you are saying is foreign to me since we have been in the mid 90's during the day and down to mid 70's at night since early May. It will be this way til September. We can even summer graft up to mid Oct if it does not turn off cold early. First frost and dormancy for our maples in usually around late November and early Dec. The upside to summer grafting is no hothouse or greenhouse necessary and you find out if you were succesful very quickly (like 2 weeks or so). the downside is disease control. I think picking scions from 1 year growth is critical cause I have never had 2 year old wood take. It also helps to have healthy roostock that is not real old and woody. As far as leaves left on scion during grafting I dont think it matters. I usually leave 1 on just due to convention. Before I get too verbose, tell me how you graft and I will at least give you my opinion on what I think matters I also only use side veneer grafting and have tried no other techniques. hope i can help you and learn from you justin
Before I moved to the Pacific NW, I thought Japanese Maples were all dark purple-red mounds. But on a Spring stroll through a nursery looking for foundation trees, I just about got whiplash from an yellow/orange tree sitting in an enormous crimson pot. I was surprised to learn it was a Japanese Maple. The tree and the pot were both spectacular; together they were breathtaking. I couldn't decide which I loved more. And then I experienced my first JM sticker shock. So next I looked at the price of the pot. Because I'd never bought a ceramic pot before I was unprepared for it to cost more than the tree! I couldn't wrap by mind around the price of either. So I walked away. But as I turned to go, two ladies paused to admire them. By the time I got to the other side of the nursery I knew I just had to have that tree. And I knew that if I thought about it too long I would miss the opportunity. So I grabbed an employee and had it marked. But I was torn by the thought of breaking up the synergistic beauty of the pair. We continued through the nursery finding trees on my list. At the end the nice nursery person mentioned that if I spent only X dollars more that I would be in the next pricing tier and receive 10% off the entire order and free delivery. So I earmarked the pot, too. On the way to the check out I started feeling sick to my stomach at the idea of spending so much. I couldn't imagine how I was going to tell my husband. As my feet started getting cold, I heard one the ladies from earlier mention to her friend that she was going to go home and ask her husband if she could have my tree. I kindly saved her the trouble of mentioning the tree to her husband by letting her know I had already arranged to purchase it. She then told her friend that was OK that what she really liked was the pot and she'd find another tree for it. I gently informed her the pot was also mine. I'll never forget the stunned and envious look on her face. That moment strengthened my resolve when I surprised my husband with how much "he" had just spent on my birthday and on what "he" had spent it. I was even able to explain why I couldn't wait for him to come and see it before "he" bought it. When the truckload of trees arrived he, too, fell in love with the way the orange/red of the pot picked up the color of the edging on the yellow leaves. The 'Ueno yama' I acquired that day has sat in that large glazed pot on decks at three different houses and received countless compliments. Many times I've gazed at them and felt grateful to have seen them and acted just a little earlier than the other lady.
For me it was a combination of three things: 1) We took water in to the house and were forced to replace a nice section of the garden with hardscape. I was determined to turn a negative into a positive and wanted to make a showcase out of the trees chosen for the patio 2) Stumbled upon the Vertrees book and was amazed at the beauty and variety of trees within 3) why this website, of course!!
I concur!!! A relative of my mom's used to live just outside Vancouver, and I remember visiting them on occasion and being floored (initially) and completely envious (to this day! lol) of the 5-6ft tall and nearly as wide beautiful red mounds she had in several containers all over the patio. I had never seen anything quite so pretty and wanted some of my own. They ended up moving and had to get rid of their beautiful maples and while I desperately wanted to take one (or more) off her hands, it just wasn't possible. Unfortunately, living in Edmonton, Alberta wasn't exactly conducive to growing these beautiful trees, in the ground or in pots. Fast-forward 20 years and I now have my own place and yard, and am living in the midwest - not ideally suited to JM's, but certainly more hospitable than Edmonton. Now instead of having to worry whether the trees will freeze to death, I have to make sure they have enough shade so as not to roast (this year especially). I have also finally given in to my long-standing love of maples and it is certainly turning into an addiction. I have been a member of that other addictive hobby - bonsai - for several years, and am hoping to combine both in the years to come. As such, I tend to prefer the smaller and more difficult to find cultivars, as is the case with many of my other garden and bonsai plants. So far, my collection is very small, but I have tried to make it a unique one: Murasaki hime, Ukigumo, Beni ubi gohon, Squitty (I couldn't NOT have one with a name like that!), Wilson's Pink Dwarf, Shishigashira, Briella's broom, Beni kumo no su, and Kawaii. Come fall, I hope to be adding a few more to the collection, and will probably do the same come spring next year, and so on. Thankfully, my husband is ok with, if not totally understanding of, my obsession. :)
Sorry for the delay. I hadn't looked at the site for a while. Um. Sad to say I don't know if I have any pictures from when the tree and pot were still together. After 3 homes and over 6 years I pulled the tree out of the pot and put it in the ground. I now have a Koto no ito in the pot. Edit: I found one!
Purchasing japanese maples is one of the more exciting challenges with rewards and failures. This is one of the biggest thrills which gets us. For me I started with ebay, about 200 trees but not really that rewarding. Then I found another collector selling negelected trees in their garden, about 130 2" to 4" caliper which I dug up. Then I found another collection down near Olympia, WA where I bought 125 large maples. At that point I was a bit over the top. Over the last few years I have bought over 1600 japanese maples. Every time I see a new tree on the list, I have to get it. thank heavens a few of the trees leave each year. It is great to see all of the trees in one spot but most of the people who come by all comment about "my problem"
amazingmaples, I cannot even comprehend how you keep track of all your trees, especially with so many in containers. With just about 40 trees in containers, I get to give individual attention to each tree (poke around the soil, check the leaves, etc. only couple of times a week). I even have an excel sheet to remind me of the dates of purchase, last repot, observations, etc. Do you utilize anything to help you with these details? Do you walk around observing every tree....sorry I can't wrap my mind around how you manage so many trees. xman
I do have one guy who comes by to help me plant the trees and repot them but to the most part I do it all myself. (I oversize my pots to reduce the amount of repotting) Most of my trees are larger so maintaince is not as big of issue. I do prune a lot to keep the trees from growing into each other. I try and walk through my yard once in the morning and once in the evening. On the nights I have time, I will spend a few hours in my yard pruning and moving the tres around. I am always moving my tres around. I have to do this since some of them leave and it opens up a hole. A big time consumption is when someone shows up. The other day a couple of people spend 4 1/2 hours looking at the trees. It is a lot of work but there is a little reward, besides the great trees.
Well Amazing Maples,it may be of no financial reward but,speaking for myself,and I expect many others here,you do us a great service. For those of us with young trees,looking at your trees we can get an idea how our trees may end up when older...not just the colourations but also wether they'll eventually handle sun or not,weaknesses you've encountered,and also the growth habits/form, which can sometimes be not how we expected....and of course just the beautiful specimens themselves....I hope your 'problem' continues:)
Much of the real work was done by the great growers who I get the trees from. Most all of the trees I buy have years worth of work in them raising them up from little "graftlings" to mid size trees to the specimen trees. As the years go on some of my handy work is showing up in the trees which is fun to see. UBC is great, i can load photos of the trees in all the different months and in the different location and I am able to find the photos and descriptions. Someday when my website is finished, I will be able to put the info there. The main note is, I am an obsessive compulsive person and I need an out for it. Japanese maples are great since there are plenty of other people to join in with.
Just before my first kid was born 2 years ago, me and my wife decided to move to a new house out of the city and for the first time I had a garden (apart from my parents' house when I was a kid). Knowing nothing about gardening, I started to research about beautiful trees to plant, and when I first saw the image of a Japanese Maple on the internet I simply fell in love. The problem was, it was really hard to find JM's around here and I remember driving 200 km to get some LOL. Not only that, but I also ordered a lot from online and had to pay lots of shipment costs especially for larger trees. It is quite hard to raise Japanese Maples here due to hot weather in summers, but now I have 13 of them, and I am really giving a lot of effort to keep them alive and healthy. And although I am running out of space, I just can't wait to enlarge my collection and buy new cultivars. :) I also love other maples, and although there are native types that can be found in my country, I mostly love the types that are native to North America (like sugar & red maple). Now, after meeting with maples, and Japanese Maples in particular, very few ornamental trees look beautiful to my eyes anymore. And in the future when I move to a new place, I can have a new garden with JUST maples and some fruit trees. I wasn't obsessive compulsive before (that I knew of) but I think now I am seriously LOL. So, actually getting hooked to this affects me negatively psychologically. :) P.S: I am already worried about what would happen to my current trees if I move. I am going back and forth about pulling them off the ground and taking them with me to their new place, or to have mercy on them and leave them at their established place. But then again, who can take care of them as well as I do, especially in hot summers? New owners? Probably not and they would simply die.
