From my initial time spent with this plant, only a few days, it is destined to be a favorite. I have spent some time looking for Fjellheim and I was happy to find a somewhat larger plant this past week. Being able to select from among a few of similar size, I chose the one with the most intense bark color. Whether that means the plant is under some sort of stree or that it is the better specimen will only be discoved in time. Supposedly a witches broom of 'Sango kaku' discoveredd in Australia, 'Fjellheim' seems to be not only a semi-dwarf but appears to have more intenses characteriestics than the parent. Similar to another dwarf Sango, 'Aka kawa hime', 'Fjelleim' should be a little larger and less compact than its dwarf counterpart, while both being ideal for a setting where 'Sango kaku' would grow too large. I would guess the plant picutured is around 4 years old. The longer chutes can be pinched back and will a bit less nitrogen the plant will stay more compact. Even without the nursery provided fertilizer program, 'Fjellheim' can still put out fairly long chutes.
MJH, thank you for highlighting these different plants each day. Your doing this and your cogent comments/observations bring me back daily to the board. I have most of the coral barks and Fjellheim is 1 of my favorites. I agree with you that the winter red intensity is breathtaking. Also the bark striping is fabulous. I like the contrast of pinkish new growth against green/yellow mature leafing. Mine is a vigorous grower with new shoots filling in with close internodal development the next year. Mine is an intense interior twig/branchlet grower which gives the plant a fullness. I have many witches brooms (would love to see a discussion topic on this) and Fjellheim seems to be a faster grower than I had thought. This is a lovely cultivar and I feel privileged to have 1 as my friend.
Hi Katsura, Thanks for the kind comments. I am glad you enjoy the photos. Someday they will be more breathtaking when these plants get some size on them. Until then, we'll just wait patient. I think I will add an Aka kawa hime sometime in the future and just got a Japanese Sunrise in the same lot at the Fjellheim. There are lots of maples with great bark, red or not, even a plant like Orido nishiki or Asahi zuru can have striking bark. When I bought this tree it was positioned with 3 or so others of similar size, but this one had far better color. So with that in mind, there maybe be something to coaxing the best color out of the bark of these trees, sun is a good place to start as well as good cool temperatures in the winter. MJH
Fall color photo: 11/10/05 Nice plant--what else can I say. Not so different than most of the other Sango kaku derivities, but I do like the smaller leaves of this dwarf. How it differs from the other semi-dwarves Winter Flame, Aka kawa hime and Beni kawa--probably very slight.
If I may add my 2 cents worth I'd have to confirm that the characteristics do seem to be more striking on the 'fjellheim' than that of 'sango kaku'. I have both growing next to each other in pots (the 'sango kaku' being ironically smaller at the moment), and the leaf coloration is brighter on the 'fjellheim'. The two get the same amount of sun and practically the same amount of water and fertilizer (which is very little of course), but the difference is significant on my trees.
