Peach-apricot colored leaves in the spring change to lime green/yellow in the summer. Shade. Small tree to maybe 5 feet, slow growing but worth the wait.
This is such a pretty tree it deserves a couple more pictures. These are taken nearly 2 months after leaf out, the plant still glows. Mine is second year in a pot, but I think I will put it in the ground next winter.
For sure it deserves more pics! Really very nice specimen, Emery. I'm not very devote research origins of the genus Acer; but it seems to me some remembrance with the japonicums & shirasawanus cultivars. Could be some association or common origin between circinatum and the others? Nelran
Thanks Nelran! I picked this up from Esveld on a visit to Holland 2 years ago. It seems like a pretty easy plant. I'm not sure what the state of the research is. I guess that one could study fossil records to try and determine the spread of the species. Paleobotany! And, although chromosome studies have been made I don't think that there has been any talk of DNA analysis of the genus or any of its taxa. One thing is clear though: japonicum, shirasawanum, circinatum and (IIRC) sieboldianum are closely related. A. circinatum is sometimes called the American version of A. japonicum. cheers, -E
mine got mildew last year and had poor showing, cant wait for this year, looks like its about to push new growth! wasn't sure it was going to make it
Mildew is an issue with the tree, I kept my watered well last year and did not have the problem, I have also kept mine out of full sun and as it goes, here in the PNW we never have full sun. Sunny Sister is just as impressive, it has a different color pattern on the leaves and tends to grow a bit larger.
i have heard that about sunny sister but have never seen one in person, i moved my sunglow to part shade so time will tell!!
If you come vist my place, you can see a couple Sunny Sister. I have three total, one planted and two in containers. They are all about 5' tall. I still wish I could have kept the first one I bought, it was 9' tall and 8' wide but it was too big for my garden.
i would love to check one out, it doesnt look like there is much of a diff via the comp but i would realy like to see one in reall life!!!! would you mind if i saw your collection? i am in kinsgston and would be willing to show you my yard
you are always welcome to come over and see the trees. Currently I have about 950 trees with about 350-400 varieties. Ido have both sunglow and sunny sister so you can see the difference. It is very hard to tell the difference if you do not have both. I think growth habit is one of the biggest difference. There is a big difference in color but you have to have a better memory than me to identify them. One tended to have more of the electric green where the other had more peachy coloring. Now I will make sure to try and note the differences, (when I get leaves this year).
People have found a way to leave my yard with a tree or two, that allows me to go out and get more trees.
This is my first spring with this cultivar. So far I am impressed. It definitely brightens up a dark corner.
Here's an update on my 'Sunglow', and therein lies a tale: I purchased the 3l in 2008 and planted it the year following the picture above. It did very poorly, so in 2011 I removed it into a pot, where it took 5 [!] years to recover and out on a decent root. I kept it potted up to 18l, beyond my usual "go-to-ground" size, but it wasn't in a hurry to get more roots on; I don't know if this is down to the understock or the plant itself. Anyway it was planted in the new site in 2016, and has done well after the usual time to get its feet in. Not a fast grower though! Aphids love it, but it is worth the trouble, and even a bit of sunburn looks very good on it. It stays yellow for most of the season, only greening a little in August.
Could be. I took time (like everyone does) to get to the right mix for here, but I think I had it pretty much down 10 years ago. Other circinatums from around this period didn't have the same problems. One thing I've learned about maples though, is "who knows?" often applies. Sometimes they just don't do much for years, then bolt into growth. Who knows why? Not I!
Compared to yours, my experience in growing maples is very limited, but that's one of the things I've... "learned" too... ^_^ ;0)
