I bought a nice 'Ichigyoji' this summer to plant on the other side of my driveway from 'Osakazuki' to "allow the full glory of the Fall brilliance to be appreciated" as it says in Vertrees. My fall color was crimson, but not as brilliant as 'Osakazuki' so I am wondering if it is a seedling, misnamed, or if newly planted maples do not always show their true colors? Before contacting the person I got it from, I thought I'd see if I need to be patient another year or not. Has anyone had any experience with this? I know it was a few years until my 'Hogyoku' showed its brilliant pumpkin color, plus some years are better than others, but I am suspicious since it's definitely crimson. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks. Kay
Kay, I have always wondered whether my 'Ichigyoji' was the genuine article too, it gives me very variable fall colours, and is certainly never a true yellow as would be expected from some of the book descriptions. The autumn colours are normally a mixture of yellow/orange, orange, scarlet, crimson and even maroon (or dark red at least). Sometimes all the different colours are visible on the same leaf at the same time. This year it was mainly towards the scarlet/crimson end of the spectrum and certianly not like the Vertrees description. I don't have any pictures from this year but will post a few from 2009 to show the variety of shades I encounter. Whether I have the true form or not, I don't know, but my tree is always the maple that gets the most comments about its fall colour. As you mentioned in your post, I also find that fall colours vary strongly year to year in some Japanese maples, and also with different sun exposure etc, particularly with newly planted trees, maybe that is the case with your tree. I don't think you can rely on first year after planting fall colour as an accurate guide to what the long term fall colour will be. It would be very interesting to hear what fall colours some more experienced growers get from their 'Ichigyoji's, because I have always been confused by mine, and it seems I am not alone.
Thank you, that was interesting/helpful. I hope others post, too. It brings up a really good possible discussion, too, about the variability of fall colors in JMs. Kay
I think that the variability depends on the species and cultivar. Some cultivars are very consistent and have basically always the same color, what changes, depending on the climatic conditions, is the intensity and the duration. This is the case for many of the A. amoenum cultivars. Others, have a large palette of colors from pale yellow to purple red and the result vary from year to year depending on climatic conditions. This is the case for many of the A. palmatum cultivars. I am illustrating this point with A. palmatum 'Oridono nishiki'. The first pic is from 2009 and the second one from 2010, this year there is a lot of yellow which was missing in 2009.. A. amoenum 'Ichigyo ji' in my garden is planted in dappled shade and displays a good yellow with some orange overtones in the leaves receiving the most sun. Gomero
Add me to the list of people questioning their 'Ichigyoji'. I've had mine for about four years in the ground, and in the fall it's only ever produced shades of orange and red - never any yellow. I originally sited it specifically for this reputed yellow autumn color, but haven't had any luck so far. It gets full sun, and I too have thought about waiting to see if it just needed to get acclimated, but this year it's more burgundy/maroon than ever (first pic), making me wonder if it's actually an 'Ichigyoji' at all (the leaves do appear to be more divided than they should). The best clear-yellow autumn color of any of my trees is the Acer pseudoplatanus 'Leopoldii' (second pic).
It's funny how something will become a quest. Now that I have decided I want a yellow foil to osakazuki, I reeeaaaallly want one. Is there another amoenum cultivar that has distinctive yellow leaves in the fall? Surely there must be one. I have decided I'll dig mine in the spring and give it to someone if I can find another cultivar that will work. Anyone know of one? Kay
