Here is a photo of a small 1g Acer palmatum 'Emperor I'. 'Emperor I' is a vigorous, upright growing tree introduced by the late Richard P. Wolff of Red Maple Nursery, Media, Pennsylvania. It holds it's color much better than most other reds and like 'Tamuke yama', it leaves out about two weeks later than most other Japanese Maples giving it the benefit of less spring frost damage.
The photo below shows an 'Emperor I' planted in one of my gardens that gets full sun exposure and is unprotected from wind on the south and west sides. The cultivar has performed very well and holds it red color all three seasons. This tree has been planted in this spot for about 10 years. The photo was taken in Aug 05. I will take some close up shots this spring and update a post isolating the cultivar.
Hi Dixie, The leaf shapes and sizes are similar, however Emperor I comes out with a deep purple red leaf and Red Emperor comes out with a lighter, burgundy red color. I have seen them mixed up here in Los Angeles. Personally if I had to pick between the two I'd choose Emperor I. Let's hope both cultivars remain UNDILUTED. Layne
Thanks for the info. We have planted two 'Emperor I' in a courtyard near each other and a 'Red Emperor' in a different location. The place where they were purchased said they were pretty much the same. I appreciate it.
The photos below are of the Emperor 1 shown in the post above in spring and fall of 2006. Notice the Shishigashira in the spring photo is almost fully leafed out while the Emperor 1 is just starting to open up.
Emperor has grown well for me but it's actually darker than I prefer. I wish I had gotten a Fireglow instead although it's a nice tree.
I have seen this tree listed as Acer palmatum 'Wolff' Emperor I® We have it in our collection it's 15' to 18' tall and is very cold hardy (survived the coldest winter in our areas history 72hrs at -25f and several weeks below-0f) stands up to full sun (in drought conditions above 100f), and never shows drought stress. The trunk is a nice silver grey color. It grows very upright and fairly compact to 10' (1/2 as wide) and then starts to spread more as it grows beyond 10', but even now at 15' to 18' it still remains less than 5' wide up to about 8'h and at the crown at 12' it is spreading to about 12'w; with the highest point in the center at 18'. This makes the tree good for planting by a sidewalk or pathway as it stays narrow up to 8' and then above will grow out over the sidewalk or path. This is a great tree for beginers or non-plant people as its easy to grow and stands up to extremes once established (should be watered in the first year and during dry summers for the first 3 years). The color is very dark burgundy and turns dark red in the fall. Without any pruning, the tree remains within its bounds and has nice interesting gentle curves in the branches. The canopy is not overly dense so it provides enough sun to grow other sun loving plants, conifers, perennials, and other varieties of lower growing Acer palmatum around it without the tree providing too much shade to compromise those understory sun loving plants growth and color. It would also do well near a window as you get a filtered view through the canopy with age and a open view in the center as foliage is sparse along the trunk and inner branches. Not dense or bushy at all with age as it opens up to a delicate appearance with age.
10th November 2020 and this is our friends tree planted 45 years ago. Sadly they are no longer with us, but their beloved Emperor 1 still is.
Emperor 1 was introduced in 1976 by Richard Wolff a friend. I was not aware that any trees were released from the nursery until about 1994 as he was working on the TM registration and growing about 6,000 in his field. I visited him often and he would not release a plant to me until 1994. My trees from 1994 are well over 25 feet or 7 to 8 meters.
Good evening, I was told that this was Emperor 1 by our late friends and indeed it was planted around that time or maybe a little after but not by very much. It has been heavily pruned over the years to keep it a size that was manageable. So after what you have said this could actually be Red Emperor, unfortunately I will never know, as tbh I cannot tell them apart and cannot ask the buyers. Beutiful photo btw.
Among other synonym's including your friend Wolff. I do wonder as our old friends were travellers and maple collectors, it may have been brought back from the US on one of their cruises. But sadly I will never know. Thankyou for your informed insight.
This is my Christmas present 2020. It's showing all the tell tell signs of Emperor 1 with the dark red bark. Buds are swelling very nicely. This will be kept in pot as I have no room in my garden. Thinking of Bonsai!! Might be interesting in a few years......
3rd April 2021 and I've been looking forward to my present getting started. I will keep this thread regularly updated so people can see how this magnificent cultivar progresses through it's life.
21st April 2021 and here the leaves start to unfurl. The process never gets boring, year after year after year IMO.
8th June 2021 and I was asked yesterday how long do the deep reds of Emperor 1 last. So here it is a few minutes ago in my garden. I will also update it through Summer.
1st May 2022 and my first posting this year of my Emperor 1. The deep dark reds of this cultivar are a must in any collection IMO.