Acer palmatum 'Hogyoku'

A 2d year tree that is looking great this spring. Photo from 4/26/07. In pot so able to get out of the freezing weather from earlier this month

Keith

 

Re: Acer palmatum Hogyoku

i also have a 2-year old Hogyoku. It is in the landscape and the cold weather poses no problem to the tree. I live in zone 7B.
I like the way it leafing out in the spring. There seems to be different shade of color around the edge of the leave. Does your tree exhibit that characteristics in the spring?

 

Re: Acer palmatum Hogyoku

Hogyoku is a great cultivar. It's very sturdy, it's an old cultivar and its tones of orange are an autumn delight. Vertrees says "...this is a very worthwhile plant since most of the year it is an attractive rich green, followed by the unique orange of Fall."

 

Re: Acer palmatum Hogyoku

Viet i haven't noticed any color on my leaf edges in spring. Can you post a photo?

This tree has been outdoors in a large clay pot year round for about 9 years in Philadelphia. It has had plenty of 10 F days here and there.

 

Re: Acer palmatum Hogyoku

I live near Collegeville, PA, near King of Prussia. My tree is in the landscape and only a 2 year old cultivar. I don't have a picture of my tree. Next spring I may try to take a few pictures of my JMs.

I think Hogyoku is a special tree. I like the thick leathery foliage.

 

Re: Acer palmatum Hogyoku

I agree Hogyoku deserves its classic status. Autumn pictures from 06.

Gil

 

Re: Acer palmatum Hogyoku

Japanese Maple List, 1882. Reliable fall colour, strongly branched, and easily grown. Stands out more than others from a distance, quite a different shade of orange from any other trees noticed. H 15' x W 15' {H 5 m. x W 5 m.}. Pics taken Oct. 19/07

 

'Hogyoku' is the first to show full color this fall. Have had this plant for about 6
months in a pot. Were going to put it in the ground next week. I hope it's this
good every year.

Cirque

 

I'm curious about the bark color. I ask because of two trees marked Hogyoku, each with different bark color. One clearly had a greenish cast to the trunk. The other clearly has a rose cast to the trunk.

So my first guess is that one of these trees is an imposter. The one with the green trunk displayed leaves that had a significant yellow cast. The rose bark previously sat next to two other Hogyoku marked trees at another nursery and displayed particularly bright orange leaves. Which adds weight to the idea that the green bark was an imposter.

That being said, green bark H was in a very large pot and had a lot of very compost rich soil in its container. Rose bark was in a small wooden box and was VERY root bound. We all know that to get the best fall color from our JM's we should avoid over fertilizing. I know leaf color can be affected. But can even the bark color be affected?

I've attached two pictures of each. The first two are Green Bark H, the second two the rose. Unfortunately I don't have a close-up of the rose's leaves, they were already pretty spent by the time I got into the photos with the phone.

Green Bark will be returned tomorrow because while he was larger for less money, I am a little concerned by the yellowness of the leaves and when I took off his burlap sack his base was severely girdled. And I bought the really bright one yesterday. Which is when I noticed their trunk colors are completely different.

Perhaps they were grafted onto different colors?

 

Anybody?

What color bark does your Hogyoku have?

 

My Hogyoku, about the same size as the ones in your photos, has a greenish/tan coloration.

Bark color seems to have as much to do with soil and sun exposure as does leaf cast. I have two Seiryus planted in very different locations. One has a tan bark and the other in a more dappled shade with very rich soil has a very red bark.

 

Our Acer p. Hogyoku is in full sun and has a beautiful green bark.

 

Very interesting, thank-you for the responses. And a big thank-you for the picture.

Well, from what I'm hearing and seeing, it seems I may have returned a more correct Hogyoku and kept a possible imposter or variant. It will be interesting to see how the bark and leaves on my tree express themselves after it has been in the ground for a while and the tree has been in more nutrient rich conditions. But whatever name I end up associating with the tree, I'm very excited about it.

This is a tree that I saw in full fall color at the nursery and just loved. I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I went back to take photos, but it was already mostly out of leaf. That's when I found the Iseli "Ojishi" and fell in love with it. When I went back to look again at the Iseli "Ojishi" I found the "Shishigashira" and promptly fell in love with it. And at the end of a long learning process the tree I took home and planted in the ground is the one for which I originally fell! LOL

I will say that at the time I first noticed the tree they had two other 'Hogyoku' next to it and it was then that I noticed that this particular tree seemed to have especially brilliant orange foilage. So I really look forward to watching this tree develop and seeing just how it performs. I'll try to remember to post photos next fall. I anticipate really good fall colors in that area in future years because I staggered a bright red Acer griseum, a bright yellow Himmalayan Paper Barked Birch behind and between, and then my bright orange "Hogyoku."

 

winterhaven, I cannot be 100% sure that our Acer palmatum Hogyoku is correctly named. It does however fit the descriptions in Vertrees and van Gelderen's books. It has certainly turned a beautiful orange this autumn. It is growing in full sun.

 

I appreciate the qualification. However three sources have indicated green bark so I feel fairly confident that is the normal expression. However one of the three sources indicated the reddening might be attributed to cold. Which boils down to it will be fun to watch and see what happens.

Your tree is lovely, BTW.

 

winterhaven, green bark here, also, with afternoon shade.

 

Ours also has green bark. Full sun.

 

just got one last week cant wait to get it in the ground, ill post pics when it pushes!

 

I just realized I never posted any followup. My Hogyoku pushed in spring and then died. Sigh. Since I had owned it less than a year the nursery gave me my money back.

 

The younger wood tends to be a nice green and as it matures it turns a yellow brown. Some of the trees which are field grown will have even more variation to the bark color. I have found these color differences vary from different growers and they differ even from the fields in which the trees were grown.

 

cant wait to see the call color!!

its in full sun

 

here is a Hogyoku in a field

 

The tree is starting to change into fall colors

 

Hey There, I recently purchased my first Japanese maple (hogyoku) and am wondering if the faint red edges on some of the leaves is normal?

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi @Ziggy Linklater, yes it is normal for this cultivar. Just to add I hope you have given it a lot of room, as it is a vigorous grower. I see in your second photo it appears to be on a balcony. If so good pruning in February would be a very good idea to keep it under control. There are some excellent videos on YouTube to show you how to do this.