Acer palmatum 'Murakumo'

You're right,with the confusion with 'Marakumo' I'm not sure I've seen this one around here either.You know what...if it wasn't for 'Ukigumo' I think this would be my favourite cultivar.Charlie says it's a slow grower so I think you've got a splendid tree there Andrea....(swapya any of mine ha ha)...incidentally,anyone heard from Charlie?...he's been conspicous by his absence,we miss him.

 

I ordered one from Esveld last week, in a 7.5 litre size, and it arrived today. Unfortunately half of the tree broke off in the package so it doesn't really look much worth taking a picture of.

Interestingly, the plant label and the website both list it as "Acer palmatum 'Murakumo' (Hort. non Japan)"

 

That sucks maf! Hopefully you can get at least a partial refund or something... Even with the damage, I'm sure you will enjoy it, it's a lovely cultivar!

 

maf, how did your tree end up fairing? What are your thoughts on it? I don't know if I could say without reservation that this is my favorite maple, but it is definitely in my top 5 - I just can't understand why it's not more common, it is so lovely! The pale pink-flushed early leaves slowly transitioning to a soft pale green that almost looks like someone sprinkled icing sugar (powdered sugar) all over them... Mine was used as a scion donor, so it's pretty tall and lanky, even so, I think it's beautiful.

 

The tree came through fine, when I look at it I forget that half of it broke off; the roots were obviously healthy as there is plenty of new growth. It may even have benifitted the structure of the plant to lose the limb that it did.

I think I may have mine in too much shade (temporary location) but I like the spring colour very much. I noticed it was also a favourite for the aphids at leafout time. Here is the colour that mine is showing right now:

 

Pretty!!


It's always nice when an OOPS! works out for the best - too bad that doesn't happen more often, lol.

Mine is in a LOT of shade. It's under a large pin oak, and gets only a bit of indirect morning sun, then mostly shade with a bit of varying dappled sun for the rest of the morning and afternoon, then shade in the evening. From what I've read, this produces the best variegation and coloring for the tree. Too much sun and it will either burn and/or be green; the soft white speckling/wash will be little to non-existent - and to me, this is what makes the tree.

I didn't notice aphids on mine, but our spring has been drier, so that undoubtedly plays a part.

 

Mine is currently sitting next to the north side of a building with other walls and fences nearby, so it almost never gets any direct sun except maybe for a couple of hours per day during the weeks around midsummer. It is quite open though so it always gets relatively bright indirect light. Maybe I actually need more shade... I like the colour of mine but some that people keep under big trees seem whiter....

 

maf, I think the key to this cultivar is shade - this spring, due to moving, the tree is in a pot and it, along with the majority of my maples, receive full sun from sun up to about noon currently (we're on the side of a mountain, and the backyard - where the trees are - faces east). The color is far more saturated and rich compared to last year; many factors could be a play here (being in a pot, a shorter winter than if it had remained in the ground, etc), but I'm hedging my bets that it's the increased sun exposure. I sent off some scion last summer to be grafted, so once I get the grafts back (this year or next), I'm going to be playing around with sun exposure and see what happens. The color is still lovely this spring, but not quite so ghostly as last year.

 

This year's colour:

 

Hey maf, that looks almost identical to the Hino Tori Nishiki I received from Hippo late on in last year’s season. I fell in love with it straight away.

 

@Luke’s Maples, My Hino tori nishiki is very different to this. The leaves are a very similar shape but on Murakumo they are larger with strong white colouration and on Hino tori nishiki they are smaller and pink with green mid-veins at this time of year.

 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

 

The second flush growth this year has been very different from the first flush.

 

What does he look like today?

 

Leaves are emerging, not fully out. I took a couple of pictures but they don't quite capture the tone, it seems brighter in real life.

 

I wonder if someone could describe how significantly different this tree is compared to Coral Pink. More white?

 

Finally acquired this tree after some time . However, due to it getting heavily fertilised for growths, all leaves are in deep green. Hopefully it'll show more white next season.

 

Thanks D. The thing is white leaves or variegated varieties tend to grow very slowly if kept unfertilised due to lack of chlorophyll. It won't be profitable for nurseries if it takes a long time to grow them to salable size. It's the same for my Ukigumo and Peve multicolor, you just have to sacrifice the 'white' for growth and starve them to go back to 'white' when more established.

 

I'm sure you will give it the right care and attention to make it thrive, anybody who has waited a long time to get a special maple will do the right thing.
I'll look forward to seeing your future photos on this thread.

 

Finally, a hint of white!

 

Here is the colour of mine this spring. Judging by my picture from last year we are around a week ahead in terms of leafout.

I see you now have both cultivars... is it too early to have any opinion on your original question? I have never grown Coral Pink but I love Murakumo. I grow mine in a container in bright shade on the north side of a building and it seems to suit these conditions.

 

Based on my own observation, I would say Murakumo is a shade or two whiter/paler than Coral Pink. Murakumo (1) leaf out almost pure white with slight green & pink tinge whilst Coral Pink (3) tend to be yellowish. Murakumo (2) will stay slightly whiter than Coral Pink (4) as both turn mottled & greenish into mid spring. Though both can look like one another at a certain stage depending on the amount of light received. It'll see how they look like in the summer.