Hi all, My three year-old Aconitifolium put on some hefty new growth this year, but I am curious if it's typical growth. It appears to be quite weepy in habit. Two of the branches are pointing nearly straight downwards. Is this normal? Do they straighten up with time? Should I prune the droopers out in late-Winter? It's not the best photo, but the real offenders are on the right, behind the rain-chain. Thanks in advance! Tobin
Droopy limbs usually do not straighten out. Wait til the leaves are off and then see what they do. My Aconitifolium put on almost 3ft. of growth this year. Unusual to say the least! I'll be pruning this winter to bring it into a more natural shape.
Weepy in the fall is unusual for me. Mine puts on long lax growth in the spring that usually straightens out by fall. It does go through a transition more than any of my other maples. How close are you to dormancy there?
It is entirely possible that I could be biasing my observation that some branches do appear to be stiffening upright. Especially those on the South side (left of the picture) of the plant. The Pacific Northwest along the Oregon/Washington border is so far experiencing a very mild Fall.
Photo disinclined to enlarge for me, but mounding and arching habit I can see here makes me think you have instead another variety. 'Aconitifolium' seen here are vase-shaped, with up-angled branches. The height and spread are often similar. For instance, one at a former nursery site in Richmond Beach, WA had an average crown spread of 27' when 29' tall when measured in 1993.
Ron, I might have thought the same if the rest of the structure isn't just as you described what Aconitifolium should be. The other bit is this is the first year I had the plant drip irrigated...along with many other plants on that line...and along with one of the wettest Spring's in the Portland metro area in MY 32yr history, I bet it just grew like a weed.
Some of the problem we have with Aconitifolium can be attributed to two form plants with the same name. One form plant of Aconitifolium was considered a forma plant and the other was once considered a variety (now referenced in most "circles" as being a cultivar). The growth habits of the trees were similar, yet were different as well with one being an upright grower that grows taller than wide and the other is more of a willowy upright that can grow wider than tall in some locations. Aside from overall shapes of the trees, the next area of dissimilarity is in the number of lobes these Maples had for a number of years. Not unusual to see one have 11-13 lobes on the same plant and the other could have as few as nine with 11 lobes being the norm in most years. The cuts in the lobes are similar until closer inspection and then we can see how the lobe structure is different among these two plants. In most instances this difference in lobe shapes has to be pointed out to someone in person, otherwise they may not pick up on just how those lobes are shaped differently. Sometimes it is more of a when, during the growing season, we can better see how the lobe arrangements are different - difference in lobe widths and lobe cutting, length of narrowness in the lobe and do the leaves nod or are they held erect and out or are they held upright and the leaf tips cascade. Today, there seems to be some real confusion regarding the forma plant Filicifolium, more so than the forma plant of Aconitifolium and the Japanese variety of Aconitifolium that came into the US in the 50's. Make no mistake the Henry Hohman plant of Filicifolium was different from the forma Aconitifolium plant that he had at Kingsville (in reference to Mr. Vertrees wording in the second edition Japanese Maples book). An issue that came up in a photo gallery thread on Aconitifolium adds to the confusion some of us went through when we learned that the Maiku jaku plant came in from Japan and there was a seedling plant in Oregon later called Maiku jaku. The two Maples are not the same and when it was learned by others that the more recent seedling was being propagated and sold as Maiku jaku from Japan a few people in Oregon started selling their Maples as Dancing Peacock. The Dancing Peacock Maple is the seedling from a Hohman forma plant of Aconitifolium grafted onto a seedling Maiku jaku. For a long while it was felt that the cultivars Dissectum and Green Cascade were selected seedlings from Filicifolium. I am not sure about this but one thing that is consistent with the forma plant Filicifolium that we will see more cascade in the lateral growth than we will with the forma Aconitifolium and the variety plant of Aconitifolium. We can see a little of the cascading effect with Maiku jaku on some of the laterals but we do not see a bona fide weeping or pendulous type of growth shoots growing outward and then downward. Years ago I was asked by a nurseryman or two in Oregon was it possible to have a nishiki form of Maiku jaku and I said that form already exists. Then later was asked could a variegated form of Maiku jaku exist and my answer was yes. Then I was asked could a variegated nishiki form exist and my answer was probably (I did not know it at the time (1990) but later learned there was a variegated nishiki form called Maiku jaku nishiki in Japan). Makes me wonder somewhat if the Kujaku nishiki is the same plant or not. So, if it means anything I can understand why Ron felt the Maple in the photo is not of Aconitifolium origin as the plant he is probably more accustomed to seeing around in the landscape is the upright forma plant. The growth habit in the photo suggests either a variant semi-dwarf form of Filicifolium or a variant nishiki form of Maiku jaku (cannot really tell as I cannot see the leaves well) rather than being a descendent plant of either the older Aconitifolium, the forma plant, or Aconitifolium the cultivar from Japan. Jim
Fascinating post, Jim. I'm always so grateful to learn from your knowledge, and you know so much! David
When last viewed the Richmond Beach tree had similarly leaved seedlings beneath it. This suggests multiple cut-leaved seedlings may have been raised and put on the market, as grafted clones. The 2001 Edition of Japanese Maples (Timber Press, Portland) says (under 'Aconitifolium') "This strong-structured plant is never weak or willowy. It is upright and multibranching in habit with sturdy and stiff twigs" and that "'Filicifolium' is so similar to 'Aconitifolium' in leaf characteristics, habit and growth that it is not possible to tell the two apart and they are treated as synonyms, although references and evidence suggest they were originally separate clones".
I'm waiting until the great Fall leaf show is over on my...Acer japonicum, shall we say for now?...and plan on taking some better pictures that I think will show evidence that this tree has grown, historically, upright until this year. I am starting to wonder if the incredible amount of rain we got in the Portland area this Spring coupled with my new-found discovery of the world of drip irrigation hasn't caused this tree to go wild in growth over the past season. I had the area drip irrigated three times a week once the rain finally quit and over one hour. There are several 1GPH emitters in the generally vicinity of the A.japonicum's roots that target other new plants.I also covered the entire bed in a nice 2-inch layer of well-processed compost in late-Spring. Final piece of interesting evidence is that this years growth (the weepy growth) is still taking it's sweet time turning Fall colors, but the rest of the tree is the usual gorgeous red/crimson. Maybe I should take a picture of that before it does change? Kind of supports that this tree went on a nutrient/water-driven growth spurt, perhaps?
OK, not sure anyone is looking at this anymore, but I've done my photo-journaling homework. As you can see, this tree sure doesn't appear to have done much weeping in the past. I included a close-up of the leaf for you guys, too. I bet if I prune this guy back in January and go easy on the water next season I'll be fine.
