Hi guys, I have obtained three separate sango kaku, each from a different local nursery around my place, and intended to plant them in the backyard. I bought these trees in winter so as to be able to clearly see the branch patterns. They are all beautiful, but one, in particular (Tree1 in pictures) have bright lime green leaves, which me and my wife in particular are very fond of. The bark on Tree1, the "lime green" leaf sango kaku is also much brighter, almost translucent red, which provides the best contrast of the three specimens. So, what do the experts think? 1) Is it possible these are caused by environmental reasons, 2) or that these are simply different trees genetically? I would like all trees to be "identical" as they are intended to be planted in close proximity, and intended to give off the same color. (I already have other JM to cover other color variations) Pictures attached.
All of the above are possible. Before going into details, I will say that any difference will only be apparent for two weeks out of the year. As these trees age, get acclimated to your environment, and are established in your native soil any subtle differences, if any will be very hard to notice. I have had the same tree look like all three of yours depending on the temperature and sun exposure when they leafed out that season. I have seen changes depending on the fertilizer used. I have seen changes based on stress and over all health of the tree. I have also seen slight difference in trees from the same grower depending on the tree or even area of the tree that the Scion wood was taken. I have also seen difference in the understock being used. Out of all these slight differences most all look identical by the 3rd week of the growing season. So I think you don't have anything to worry about. Again, in a few years once all 3 get established, it's my opinion that they will all look too similar for anyone to ever notice. Mine were most reliable in giving you that green color of tree 1, unless it was very cold when the tree started to leaf out, then I would get the redish margins. The same tree had the red margins when I first bought it, but rarely show it again with each new season. Good luck with your new trees. I hope they give you many years of enjoyment.
You are pretty lucky in that your three trees from different nurseries look pretty similar, however the goal of "identical" may be elusive. I bought my first tree 11/2016 and it has become probably my favorite JM due to its beautiful leaf and bark color throughout the seasons. So far, it's the only one with significant fall color. (SK1) I bought a tree that was tagged as a Higasayama (same nursery as SK1) in 11/2017 but it leafed out with Sango leaves this spring. No leaf color change visible yet. (SK2) I bought a Sango from a different nursery in 11/2017 that looks a lot like your #1 tree. Tall and leggy with nice leaf color and bright red bark. Leaves have yellowed a bit. (SK3) I bought another Sango about a month ago to fill in a specific spot from third nursery. It was a little stressed with leaf scorch and does not have visible red bark. (SK4) They are all significantly different from each other in leaf color, form and bark color. Only SK2 is planted in ground. Here's a pic of each a few days ago.
Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I was asking for a bit much out of these trees. (Even my identical twin nephews are very different from one another.) I was tempted to go back to the nursery where i got Tree1 and grab another 2 to replace the ones from the other nursery, and put those up for sale on Gumtree (our equivalent of Craiglist here in Australia). I might still end up doing that. :D Funnily i've owned SK for many years (first tree about 8 years ago) and having never owned more than 1 of the same variety, i've never needed to compare them. They are all beautiful anyway. I would say the lesson for me is to not buy more of the same variety! Being somewhat pedantic, I'll likely just drive myself nuts figuring out which one is "truer" or "better version" of the other. But keep the replies coming! I'm keen to hear of your opinions, and its always a pleasure to see pictures of other trees :)
