Hi all, I have this 2 year old seedling, it was from a pack of seeds i bought on ebay named as Acer Palmatum. However this seedling is notably different to almost every other acer palmatum seedling i have grown. See for yourself. The one in question is on the right. I am unsure it is acer palmatum! Perhaps some other acer variety? On the left, is a normal acer palmatum seedling to see the contrast. My different one seems so smooth on the edges and colour is a very dark rich green. Though small, the growth habit is very upright. I was thinking maybe acer elgantalum?
Hi, This is part of the fun of JM seedlings! A. palmatum seedlings are extremely polymorphic, so out of a batch it's not uncommon to get several that are wildly different from the others. What's more, sometimes the juvenile characteristics disappear with age, so that the fact that you have an interesting plant may not be known for a couple of years. Or the other way around of course! I don't think there's any reason to think it's not palmatum at this point, but you'll know more as it grows up a little. It's a pretty little maple whatever it is. Hope you're enjoying the summer, it's been sooo cooold here, can't wait to be shut of it. cheers,
Thanks Emery. I will post some pictures in autumn, last year its leaves all burnt off so didnt see much. I love seeing the variety in seedlings. Summer this year is extremely hot unfortuntately. Daytime 3 degrees celcius above average. Have had 6+ days over 40○c. Which is abnormal, even though i live in a hot area. Had to travel away for a week so left all my japanese maples in containers of water. Only lost one seedling put of about 20 which is good. Summer is about survival here in western Sydney. March becomes more liveable :) I envy your cold winters.
Ah, the grass is always greener. But in this case I don't envy your summers much. We do occasionally see 40C, but at least for now it's a real rarity, thank goodness! But this winter has been particularly cold, we've seen -9.2C which is getting out of zone 8 and while OK for JMs it's quite difficult for some of the maples I grow. It was cold for an extended period too, although it usually came above freezing during the day. We'll see what the damage looks like as things start to warm up, but currently things are about 5 weeks late in the garden: daffs only just up and not a snowdrop blooming yet. I am hoping the bugs will be a little easier this year, thanks to the cold. The thaw now will bring the snowdrops anyway to make things a little cheerier! Def show us some more pics in the fall, it's a pretty thing. cheers, -E
