Some maples are still in the summer growth phase, while others are feeling the stress and starting in with early autumn colors. It's a strange summer with continuing drought and now another heat wave at 30C. I stuck in a spade and the earth is like dust, in spite of a nice 25 mm rain (the first in a long while!) a few days ago. A. japonicum 'Oudenbosch' A. japonicum 'Blushing Beauty' A. cappadocicum Intermarché A. rubescense 'Summer Snow' Acer 'Sango kaku' A. rubescens A. x davidii A. elegantulum A. catalpifolium and A. schneiderianum A. flabellatum var. yunnanense
Hi emery, wonderful photos and so nice to see different varieties. Fortunately we have had a lot of rain so not suffering the same problem you are having. Our gardens are going to have to change and adapt as the climate changes and gets warmer. Planting more shade giving trees and setting up rain water harvesting is definitely the way forward.
Hi, glad you enjoyed and good to hear you've had rain! I guess it's all been going up north, actually I remember seeing some bad flooding on the BBC now that you mention it. I do collect rain water, and we have a well which is used as a source. But in truth I rarely-to-never water established maples, I find that, especially the palmatums, are extremely tough once established. As you know that takes about 3 years, especially here where the soil is extremely acidic (4.8 -5.2) so root growth is slow. Over the last several years I've been planting around 50 per year, so that still leaves me with a lot of watering! I hope to slow down this year. Shade trees, yes. But that takes time too: the garden here was pretty much a tabula rasa when we started planting... Just to show the contrast, here's an established Acer 'Sango kaku', with A. capillipes 'Honeydew' and a lovely Betula utilis, all in full sun and resisting very well without additional water. Whereas the 'Sango kaku' above, which is IIRC in it's second season, gets quite a bit of shade and really only late afternoon sun. best, -E
Beautiful trees, despite a very challenging summer.. Ive not come across the tree in the first photo A. japonicum 'Oudenbosch' gorgeous, it looks similiar to J.Aconitifolium. Kind regards Rich
Thanks Rich. 'Oudenbosch' is in a pot, a hotel for Acers I always think. So it's been watered, but it does stand up well to the sun. I'm not really sure why it was selected, you're right it does look like 'Aconitifolium' and possibly it's a seedling of that cultivar -- many of the dissected japonicums are. I wondered if it was a weeping form, but it does seem upright. I'll have to remember to ask in what way it is different (aside from the label!) cheers, -E
