Acer palmatum 'Beni otake'

Hi G, the variation of colours etc etc between areas and in our case continent, is a fascinating topic. I'm not sure it's all down to sun exposure. Soil and environmental conditions I believe has a lot to play in how our trees look, along with the rootstock used.
Not sure we will ever really get to know the answer, but your posting has raised some questions.

 

23rd May 2022 and my Beni otake this morning was really quite dark. It sat amongst the greens quite nicely.

 

19th June 2022 and the deep burgundy leaves on my Beni otake are just about perfect IMO now.

 

Last afternoon of spring


First morning of summer

 

10th April 2023 and the leaves are coming. This is one of my favourites to just sit and stare at as they unfurl.

 

'Beni otake'

May 2nd


May 7th


May 10th


May 14th

 

Bought Beni Otake to fill the void in my collection left by a mislabeled A.P. Enkan. I really like buying maples before they leaf out so I can see it's branch structure. Lucky my new property will accommodate its larger size and I'll leave the unknown red A.P. at the house I'm selling. The sun looks incredible shining through it's leaves. I'll get better pictures soon

 

Lovely tree @GardenCycles it happens too often that maples are mislabelled, but the quantities that are being produced, mistakes are bound to happen.

 

Filling in early this year for me though we did get below freezing this morning

4/7


4/16
elongated leaves before they fatten up


4/16
morning sunshine through a new leaf

 

25th April 2024 and some nice colours on my Beni otake this morning. I like mixing this one with yellows in my garden.

 

2 weeks ago


today

 

Just fantastic colours G. So much brighter than mine on this side of the pond.