Acer palmatum 'Ariadne'

How low did you get too over the weekend M?
Just saw Scotland got to -15c last night. And parts of north England -10 c. Hope that wasn't you!!?
Lovely pics once again. Ariadne is a special maple.

 

We got down to -8 last night but thankfully no snow !!! mainly further up North and Scotland for the white stuff.

 

Hope that's as low as it goes for you up there M. As @Maple_Lady said - 10 is about the limit for Ariadne in pots.

 

Yes, the summers are getting too hot and unpredictably so. We hit 120 degrees F in June 2021 and the large conifers browned on the south and west sides. Most of my maples in the sun completely defoliated. I had a lot of die back. In the greenhouses the temperature reached 130 and again lots of defoliation and die back. I lost late summer growth in 2021 and 2022 due to the heat. In June 2022 we reached 104. To put it into comparison normally we have rain and cool temps in June. Our previous cliche' was that summers in the Northwest began on July 5th. Not anymore and this is the primary reason I am in the process of shutting down my nursery. I will not add anymore maples to my inventory, but rather sell what I have and call it quits. I have roughly 1000 left. Of course I will save around 100 for me to plant in and around my property.

 

Actually small amounts of snow is a good thing. It insulates the maples and adds moisture when it melts. Cold, drying winds without snow can suck the life out of maples in pots. Just don't let it sit on the branches and any leaves that may remain on the maple. This year we had a hard freeze in early November. The cold freezes the leaves on the maples and they don't drop as easily. Sometimes you have to pick off the dead leaves. Snow and ice can cause damage if the leaves are not removed. Good luck.

 

So sorry to hear you are having to close up shop S. But tbh I have mentioned on other threads that with the change in climate, are maples in hotter parts of the world the right way forward. I have been collecting and growing for over 47 years and have never seen as many die as I have these past couple of years. We do have to adapt and plant according to locations and future weather patterns that are emerging.
I am glad to hear that you are keeping 200 maples though S (including an Ariadne)?? and hope you can keep them shaded in the Summer and protected from extreme cold in the Winter.

 

I have one lovely Ariadne in my semi-shaded area. Just enough sun to bring out the color in those reticulated leaves. I will definitely plant more Ariadne as it is the perfect maple - not too small and not too big - just right. Thanks for the kind words. S

 

Every day when I get home from work I check on this tree. The leaf color is amazing. Especially the inner leaves. Sighted in full shade until mid afternoon. Bought the tree from Sam at Eastfork Nursery. If I could only own 3 trees it would be on the list.

 

26th April 2023 and I'm so glad to see my Ariadne leafing out. Had a major root prune and re pot in March. I always worry about this, but all seems OK.

 

My little Ariadne, sitting in lots of shade and now recovering from it's brief time as slug food.
Loving the colours of it at the moment, I've not seen one quite like this before

 

8th June 2023 , I thought I would show my Ariadne in afternoon light, as N @D97x7 put his beauty on this morning.

Mine is around 5ft -6ft tall now.

 

20th October 2023 and my Ariadne is just starting to colour up now. It's doing well now after a major root prune in March.

 

Just woken up and looking especially vibrant this year.

 

6th April 2024 and not as bright as @D97x7 lovely tree, but it's on the way for another season.

 

Oh mine has toned down somewhat now, I think it was just embarrassed when it first came out.

 

Lol...

 

Found a good size Ariadne on clearance last fall... first time seeinf the leaves ... a little more orange tones especially when the sun is hitting than I expected but I think I like it so far!

 

And so do I. Welcome to the maples forum.

 

Sun changes this tree a lot, all three pictures taken today, the most inner shaded growth is green with white and the most outer growth is pinkish red, very cool.

 

Question: the leaves are a little droopy curling down at the stem and the leaf tips, my guess is too much water. The sun exposure varies throughout the day: 2 hours of morning sun and then 3-4 hours late afternoon sun (not ideal) but I have seen reports Ariande can handle more afternoon sun than you would think...but we'll see how summer goes.

 

Ariadne was the first reticulated maple I bought and still my favorite. It hasn't colored up as good as last year because I'm moving and dug it up to take with me. My storage spot is more shady than the spot I have it before.