The 1st photos is from this spring, the other two are from last year sequentially, with the new growth on dark green being a summer coloring. I think that Kiyohime has been bastardized to such a great degree that it is hard know when we are seeing one, but then again it is a very distinctive plant. Available in a number of different forms, this dwarf rarely needs shaping to form a low growing mound, some forms a bit taller than others. It lends itself to container culture and bonsai quite well--my only regret is that I do not have a larger plant to show. This little guy is in a 3gal pot and is in its 4th year, losing some of its branches to the elements this past winter.
This plant astounds me witht he color of the new growth. It truly is radiant, grown in partial shade with a short blast of early morning sun and then some sun very late in the day from low on the horizon.
