Hi, I have bought a number of new (for me) cultivars of Acer palmatum to add to my garden this fall. Among them there are Emma and Sharon. They were bought from a well known supplier in the Netherlands. To my surprise these two cultivars are not mentioned in either of the reference books I have. They are probably close to other better known cultivars...., could anybody tell me more about them? Thank you
Gomero-- Any pictures?? I have asked the same question about some cultivars I have picked up in the last few years. With the proliferation of cultivars it is a struggle to know what you have. The most we can hope is that we like the tree enough to watch it while we try to answer our questions. Emma is listed in Appendix C of Vertrees: Cultivars not yet assessed "Dissectum-red: similar to Ornatum in habit, growth, and early color, but the leaves become a deeper purple that is maintained throughout the summer, turning a rich orange in the fall. It was selected by Fritz van der Horst at Firma C. Esveld and named after his daughter." So, do you have a reliable cultivar of Ornatum, maybe you can compare:) Ornatum is apparantly more red in spring and fall, but that really doesn't say how it might compare to Crimson Queen, Inaba shidare, Nigrum, or any of the others. Although is is "like" Ornatum in habit, Vertrees does not say from what parent the Emma might be selected. Michael
Hi Michael, I bought them at Esveld's so they have been probably grafted from the original trees. I was a bit in a hurry and I could not go to see the adult trees at their arboretum. In the label they give Sharon a height of 4 meters and Emma 2 meters. In the attached pictures tou may see that Emma has very large leaves. Regards,
Nice trees. From the reading I have done about other trees brought to market by Esveld, many are openly pollinated seedlings. Maybe you have one of their lucky selections! It is hard to make any determination through the photos about the trees, but they look nice. Dissectums can be so difficult to tell apart. Sice I doubt many of us here in the U.S. are growing either of your trees, I am sure seasonal pictures and any updates you have would be valuable. Also, I will be interested how the tree looks in a few years as the characteristics mature more. Hard to say much about vigorous growth on a new graft. Maybe you could start a thread over in the photo gallery and post pictures seasonally. Take Care, Michael
Hi Michael, Good suggestion, I'll start the thread. I was not aware that those cultivars are probably not proposed in North America. Next time at Esveld's I'll try to get some shots of the adult trees. At their website they have two pictures of Emma and say: New Dissectum selection, brown leaf colour, orange in autumn. The plant grows to about 250 cm. The leaf colour is dark brown in spring However no description of Sharon. Regards Gomero
