Cheering ourselves up with Maples

After @AlainK said yesterday that ghosts are difficult to obtain where he is, I thought I would suggest these two as good alternatives. I have both in my garden and they look nice in the morning sunshine. They are Reticulatum and Reticulatum Purple.
Both set each other off with their contrasting colours. I also find that Reticulatum stands out against the dark green of my Laurel hedge.

@zfrittz might find these easier to find in Spain rather than the ghosts.

 

Random photo of a tree (on the right behind the house) I saw at the weekend fishing in the Cotswolds. No idea what tree has this growth form or whether it has been heavily pruned. Also a photo evidencing wine consumption on the bank at dust

 

Hi @dicky5ash , that looks idyllic.

 

@zfrittz , of course it is difficult to surely identify any plant from a single leaf, but here's what I think: the first maple is almost certainly A. monspessulanum. The second maple I think may be A. campestre. Things get trickier here. This one is very variable especially by region, but the consensus is that these variations don't make enough to have separate subspecies because the flower morphology is identical. Future molecular studies hopefully will clarify the phylogenetic relationship between these regional groups. (Anyone out there looking for good thesis material? haha). I feel like things aren't right for granatense, but there isn't enough to go on: speaking sort of generally, granatense looks for me like a cross between hyrcanum and opalus, this one just doesn't quite fit.

I think the 3rd maple looks a lot like opalus, but I can't say more.

For the database of Acer species pictures and the vegetative key, our friends and supporters at the Wespelaar arboretum in Belgium have compiled a very good database. We intend to have the photos on the MS web site sometime soon, but in the mean time the granatense pictures are very interesting, you will see it is quite variable too. These pictures are meant to be used with the key, also below.

https://www.arboretumwespelaar.be/E...lustrations/List_of_illustrated_taxa/#alfabet

MS committee member Dan Crowley, then of Westonbirt, and Jan de Langhe of the U. of Ghent developed a comprehensive vegetative key, available here

https://maplesociety.org/sites/default/files/Key_Acer_JDL.pdf

The multi-winged samaras seem to be a result of mechanical damage -- birds or freezing -- during ovary development rather than mutation. We often see 3- or even 4-winged, but one year I got monstrous fruit on the Haunted Maple, A. pseudoplatanus 'Corstorphinense'. I think it was 2011, here are some pictures. I tried to grow the seed, but it did not germinate! Maybe I was lucky: Frankenmaples anyone?

 

It’s funny how seedlings can wilt or drop leaves for no apparent reason..I had one 2year seeding that had ever so promising characteristics and have been careful with watering not overdoing or under doing...suddenly today it’s leaves have wilted, now looks very suspect, all the others are fine..

In other news I have found 2 new seedlings in pots..I’m sure I inadvertently pluck some out when they are so small they are indistinguishable from weeds..not sure How this is avoided apart from letting all new additions grow until they can be identified

 

I've had the same thing happen to some of mine, all though I find seedlings fun, they're very hit and miss re strength in their root systems. My rule of thumb is, if they survive 3 years they will probably do OK. PROBABLY!!!!

D

 

I find this can be very frustrating. Last year a really pretty, almost black leaved, finely dissected seedling suddenly croaked after IIRC 6 years. I agree with your rule totally, D, as you say though: probably!

 

Hi Emery, almost black dissected, now that would have been a keeper!!

D

 

I recall you mentioning this a long time back when I spoke of growing seedlings last year..so frustrating, yours would have been a beauty

 

hard to tell from the picture but kind of looks like a monkey puzzle tree

 

Hello!

There are fleas in my backyard and these days we are trying to get rid of. Fortunately, the situation seems to be more controlled and there are already areas where there are no fleas (diatomaceous earth is being very effective). One of those areas is that of the Maples.

But today I wanted to share with you a photo of the first flower of a Pseudobombax ellipticum. It is curious: it measures a meter and a half or less, and it has already been encouraged to flourish.

 

I don't know, what maple this is on the photo from the Japanese Garden in Tallinn. Any ideas?

 

Hi @Sulev, hope your well and enjoying some warmer weather now.
It's a bit far away but could be 'Atropurpureum'.
Lovely photo.

 

Hi @Acerholic, thank you for quick feedback!
I mean the maple in the foreground. It has green leaves, with deep notches between lobes, and fine hanging branches.
Those purple leaves on the background belong to Coryllus.

 

Thanks ryanskarma, I know poor photo..but it isn’t a monkey puzzle..the branch form was very random and was not conical in shape..rather haphazard branches densely leaved tight to the branch rather than a branch with numerous other branches coming from it there is a couple of JM with this growth form but that would be too big for jM in that location

 

Lol, IMO it could be Acer saccharinum. But the leaves haven't fully opened yet.

 

Yes, it's definitely a Silver Maple, A. saccharinum, well spotted @Acerholic.

@monicasanchez I think maybe you mean the word "aphids" not fleas? (= Pucerons = áfido) I do really appreciate folks who take the time to mess around in English when it isn't their first language. It's what I do in French...

I probably posted a picture of it. I'm totally superstitious about seedlings, and never take pictures of them until I think they will live. :)

I was interested in looking at my maple, that was sold to me as A. granatense but has been confirmed as being a southern variation of A. campestre. It looks a lot like @zfrittz second photo. Also a picture of the gang relaxing in the sun. Samantha is deciding whether to jump Miko, while Cooper pretends he's not there at all.

 

Emery, thanks for all the information, but I have located the maple from Granada, in the gardens of the Alhambra there are 13 adults, I have been talking to the person in charge of the gardens and he has told me to let him know when I want to go and collect seeds , although I have to move a few km. He also sent me a photo of the leaves.
Acerholic, I was looking for reticulatum and there is no one in Spain either.

 

No superstition involved..You mentioned that it was black and special and it died without any forewarning..you were managing my expectations about growing on seedlings ..

The photo of your cat and dogs is fabulous..what a happy family!

 

What should one do on the last sunny evening before the clouds come in..crack on with numerous jobs or lay on the grass(of sorts) with a suspect unfiltered cloudy IPA, now which is it

 

Emery, the photos you have put are not the Granatense maple, they can be hybrids but if you look at these last photos it is different, and that is for sure and it is as I know it, but I have seen very different leaves in this Maple, especially when they are very young, but when they are 4 or 5 years old, all Granatenses have it as seen in the photo I have put up.

 

Thank you, @Acerholic!

Some more maples from the Japanese Garden:

 

Hi @Sulev, looks like you had a lovely day out. I've enjoyed seeing these photos from Estonia, thankyou.

 

As people are sharing their relaxing photos on the last day of the warm weather. I thought I would share my wife and I relaxing cool walk today. We went out to look at the trees but found more than we expected. Yes including Alpacas !!!
But as this is about Maples, just one from today 'Beni Maiko' glowing in my garden.

 

Hello,

No, unfortunately they are fleas (pulgas in Spanish) and not aphids. But thanks :)

You have a very beautiful dogs!