I'm new to posting here but a long-time reader; the information all of you provide is very helpful. Today I visited a wholesale Japanese maple grower in central Virginia who produces about 450 different cultivars. In her "not for sale" screen house she had a potted (3 gal) cultivar named 'Morton'. It was upright, red stemmed, with long internodes. The leaves were typical palmatum type, small and kind of stubby, olive green with a bit of red margin. It had an open, graceful appearance. While it wasn't as showy as some, it was out of the ordinary and my husband and I fell in love with it. I wish we'd taken a picture! Anyway, the owner said she'd received it as a gift and wasn't intending to propogate it. She didn't volunteer any more information as to where it came from. Any of you have any ideas what this might be? Needless to say I've already googled the name and came up with nothing. Now the hunt is on. . . .
Hi bfish, Welcome and, please, do contribute. The only maple cultivar named 'Morton' that is recorded in the WCMCN (Worl Checklist of Maple Cultivar Names) is an Acer miyabei 'Morton' , selected at the Morton Arboretum in 1993. Miyabei leaves are not too different from palmatum. Gomero
Thanks for your reply, Gomero. I did find the A. miyabei 'Morton' in my googling and checked out the picture -- that's not it. I'm going to have to find a reason to go back to the maple grower and get a picture. In the meantime I'll pore through Vertrees and see if I can find anything similar.
I acquired a hybrid maple two years ago at the Maple Society NAB meeting in Atlanta that is reported to be a cross between palmatum and circinatum. The Acer x (palmatum x circinatum) from Morton Arboretum is tagged Morton 644-81. It is a really nice plant and I will try to get some pictures in the morning to post. The plant was donated by a Maple Society member and nurseryman from NC. I found this on the Morton Arboretum site 644-81 Seed from Washington Park Arboretum University of Washington (received as Acer circinatum). 1 in Aceraceae, north section: X-60/90-63 Ed
I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures -- thanks in advance. A connection to the Morton Arboretum did occur to me, but I never would have figured this out. I'll check out their website.
That is probably it. There is also an A. saccharum 'Morton' on the market. So A. miyabei 'Morton' is not the only one. http://bailey.virtual-services.net/presslib/info/4494
Ron -- Thanks for the link; doesn't look like the Acer I saw today though. Ed's plant, however, is a definite possibility. I looked at some Acer circinatum cultivars on Buchholz & Buchholz and there is a pretty strong resemblance to A. c. 'Pacific Fire'. The fact that Ed's tree originated from a NC grower suggests to me that the owner of the establishment we visited today could have connected with the same individual (given that just about all Japanese maples retailed around here come from either VA and NC growers). The 'Morton' I'm [probably quite inadequately] describing appears to be an ornamental tree, not a large-growing shade tree. I can't recall if it was multi-trunked but it had multiple upward-growing branches. Another question -- does anyone in this part of the world (just at the edge of Tidewater Virginia -- zone 7B) or points south have experience with growing A. circinatum? I haven't seen them sold in nurseries around here and I visit a lot of them to support my maple, and numerous other plants, addiction.
I did not say I thought the sugar maple was the plant in question. "That is probably it" referred to Morton 644-81.
The attached pictures are taken this morning. We have had a very wet spring and the color is not as good as it was earlier this year. Ed
I said A. miyabei 'Norton' is the only maple cultivar with that name that appears in the WCMCN . Apparently, reading this thread, one learns that there are other maple cultivars with the same name that were missed by all the people who contributed to the recently published WCMCN. Gomero
Ed -- Yep, that's it! Many thanks for going to the trouble to research and to take and send the pics. Do you or any of the other maple lovers on these boards have any ideas/suggestions on how to obtain this lovely plant? I would love to get it for my husband, someday and somehow -- Barb
Great, I owe you big time! Hope your search is a fruitful one. [P.S. I've enjoyed all the shots of your beautiful garden you've posted in response to various maple questions on this forum -- this site has been the first stop for a lot of research over the past years. Used to live in your part of the world too (Monmouth and Morris counties).]
