Acer palmatum 'Fairyhair'

Hey Sam,
That's beautiful! I think that I'll be able to order one in a month or two...if I can wait that long! Fairyhair continues to amaze me, like most japanese maples always do.

Well, I sure hope that I'll be ordering soon!
David

 

Agreed - that tree looks like a lot of fun from day one!

 

for those interested in another amazing pic of fairyhair, just click here:

http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2007/04/acer_palmatum_fairy_hair.php#002076

I just may have to try and pick one of these up....

 

Hi All,

It's Christmas in April for me..... tomorrow I pick up a full load of maples from my guru Talon, in Gaston Oregon. I am so excited. I have asked for some new cultivars and he has graciously allowed me to purchase a few of these cuties. I will post pics when I can as this weekend is a local plant sale and the weather is going to be 75 degrees yahoooo!

By the way, if I get a chance to ask Talon, I will find out if it is Fairyhair or Fairy Hair, as I have seen it both ways. Happy Spring. Sam

 

Great Sam! What new varieties are you getting?
David

 

Well, mine just barely arrived two days ago. I couldn't wait more and ordered one from Eastfork nursery. It came perfectly packed and without any signs of stress -even with a 5 days trip- (Thank you Sam!). By the way, guys: this cultivar is very slow growing so I suggest you get your's soon before they're gone for this season.

Here are the pic of the tiny beauty:

 

Hey Nelran,
That's a beautiful plant! I'm jealous; I think I'm going to order one too from Sam. Can you tell me how tall it is? Thanks!
David

 

Sure, David, My fairy Hair came with a lot of... uhmm "hair". The leaves are incredible thin (1mm or less and 3 to 4 inches large. The trunk is about 5" tall, and is as wide as a pencil. Overall, with leaves, (I gess) the whole plant is about 6-1/2" tall. Even with this fragile look, it is very healty and strong. This is my first "linearilobum", and I'm very happy with it. Get yours soon David, Sam told me that she only have few quantities of this cultivar. (I already check in the Topiary Garden Website (Diana, my other trusted provider), and sadly, Fairy Hair is alredy "sold out".

Nelran

 

This nice plant was sold to me as Fairy Hair or Koto Ito Kamachi, they had lost the tag for the unit. I bought it anyway. I think it's Koto Ito Kamachi. It's not as orange as the Field guides book on fairyhair.

It's leafing out now, and was wondering if someone could tell me what it is...
Thanks!

Mike

 

Hey Nelran,

Great pic. Your Fairy Hair has even more hair now than when I sent it. It looks happy and healthy. I guess I will post one more on eBay. I am saving a few for special customers. LOL. Sam

 

Mike,
I think that you have a fairyhair...because the lobes on 'Koto Ito Komachi' are very twisted and "curly." David

 

Hi David and Mike,

I am not so sure that Mike's is a Fairy Hair - only because of the difficulty in obtaining this cultivar. Mike, do you remember where you purchased your little cutey? Also, can you send us some more pics of how it looks now. Fairy Hair tends to grow in a V shape that reminds me of little girls with pig tails high above their ears. Sam

 

Thanks, Sam. Certainly, the Fairy Hair is going very well and happy in its new home. Even now it shows new shoots and leaves so soon I will need to buy a comb!LOL.
I think it's one of the rarest palmatums, no doubt.

By the way, I'm looking for others (some "hard to find") cultivars to add to my collection, so probably you Sam, (or somebody else) can help me to locate them. I have a list of about 50-60 cultivars, but my search is focusing now with this cultivars:

-A.P. 'Shigitatsu Sawa' (Not the 'Aka' form)
-A.P. 'Murasaki kiyohime'
-A.P. 'Kinshi'
-A.P. 'Komachi hime'
-A.P. 'Germaine's Gyration'
-A.J. 'Otaki'
-A.J. 'Vitifolium'
-A.S. 'Palmatifolium'

Thanks
Nelson

 

I purchased from Oriental Garden Supply in New York. I get an occasional delivery which is nice.

I have attached an updated picture. It is still putting out some leaves, and the leaves appear longer.

Mike

 

Hi Nelson,

I'll be in touch about your request.

Hi Mike,

Very skinny leaves, nice pic, but I can't be sure it is a Fairy Hair or something else. What did the nursery where you bought the maple label it?

I noticed that the email chatter has slowed down, probably because we are all outside enjoying our beauties and not stuck inside on the computer to cure our maple hunger. LOL. Sam

 

Sam,
That's the mystery, It was missing a label, but they thought it was fairy hair. They did stock it, but this larger one was missing a label. They did state it could be koto ito kamachi. I will label it 'mystery linearlobum'. One of several mystery plants in my collection. (one from you)!

 

Mike, I think that you have a Fairy hair...I have a 'Koto Ito Komachi' that has been traced back to the original (a graft off of a graft which was a piece of scion wood from the original tree) and it looks very different...it has exceedingly thin twigs (even thinner than your tree!) and not one lobe on one leaf is completely straight like yours...I'll attach a picture if I can. Whatever it is, it is a very pretty tree! David

 

One other thing I forgot to mention...it is about 7 inches tall, but it appears to be larger in the picture. Also, the bark is a red color on both your tree and mine, but that may mean nothing...

David

 

Thank you Sam for the extremely cute fairy hair. :)
Will be posting a picture or two in the coming days.

Johnny


UPDATE:
Here is a photo....
I just LOVE this one :)
So glad I bought it.

 

Nice one Johnny! Here are some pictures of mine, taken about in the middle of June. It has a little leaf burn now but that can be expected because of the repotting and shipping, etc. Overall one of my favorites and certainly my mom's favorite. Awesome cultivar for containers and/or bonsai, but I think that mine will just be a specimen when it gets bigger (if it ever does!). I can't wait for the fall color!

David

 

needless to say I couldn't hold off on this one!

 

It's really Nice, Paxi. Sadly mine, didn't get through the summer. I was baby it, keeping in shade, with a rigourous water schedule; but this tiny guy lost its leaves (scorched/dried) during windy/warmer days and for a few weeks looked like it was recovering, but early september it started to wilting, showing black spots on branches and finally a week later, I lost it. Also at the same time, it took the same fate my only specimen of Acer Shirasawanum '6910 Holland' (1 gal size). Surely it was my fault for not to take action at the right time (keeping them indoors for example); so they're gone now. It looks to me that these tiny cultivars were in the wrong time of the year: a sudden climate change conditions for small cultivars is a recipe for disaster. Anyway, Lesson Learned.

Nelran

 

Last winter hubby and I saw this tree at Charlie's (Amazing Maples) and hubby fell in love with the idea of it. I was on the fence because it was bare, I had never seen one in person, and I wasn't sure how different it would look from Koto no ito. Also, I'm a confessed color addict (I live in Washington surrounded by green, green, and more green) so I wasn't sure I wanted another green tree.

I am so glad hubby and Charlie talked me into this tree (the photos here helped them do it). It's way cool. It was maybe the slowest of my trees to leaf out, but I'm really enjoying it.

Its spring appearance had quite a bit of pink tones to it, which surprised me. Now that its leaves are developing more fully I'm getting the lime tones that I expected for that spot.

And now that I've seen it in person and can compare it to Koto no ito they look very different to me. Fairyhair's leaves are much thinner and just about every leaf has some sort of contortion. They don't all necessarily have a twist, but most all have a ripple or a ribbon effect or something. It was hard to photograph because the camera had trouble "seeing" the leaves on which I wanted it to focus.

I never did get a photo that captured the pink toned tree effect from spring. But photo number two kinda gives you an idea. The first two photos are from spring as it developed and the remainder are from today. I included the further away shot where it's in the background to depict the glow I see from across the yard that the camera doesn't quite capture when photos are taken closer to the tree.

I am so happy to have this tree in my yard. I wanted something really special for the rock "podium" area by the ponds. This tree is proving worthy of the pedestal.

 

In the fall it turns red, and looks like little confetti streamers! :)

 

last year this Fairy hair turned a dark purple/red. It is a little over 5' tall. The tree does get a lot of attention and is well worth owning.