'Red Select' is often confused in the nursery trade with 'Ever Red', 'Garnet' and 'Inaba shidare'. Although there are some references to this Maple being a selection from 'Dissectum Nigrum', this Maple is actually a seedling selection from 'Inaba shidare'. In the early Spring as the pubescence is showing this Maple will look identical to 'Inaba shidare' and 'Oregon Garnet'. As this Maple leafs out the difference in the color and the size of the leaves becomes quite evident as 'Red Select' has the smallest sized leaves in comparison to 'Inaba shidare' and 'Oregon Garnet'. This Maple by early Summer will be a green tone with red markings on the tips and the leaf margins of the lobes, very similar to the Summer color of 'Oregon Garnet'. This Maple in the Fall will be more of a scarlet red in color with the late Summer new growth being a rich purple red in its Fall color.
If you're right, Vertrees is wrong because he says page 151 of "Japanese maples, 3rd edition" :"Inaba shidare and Red select are probably the same"
Andre, Take a look here: http://www.esveld.nl/htmldia/a/ex/acpish.htm If we can agree that all of these trees might be different, even slightly, then we have some means to explain the wide variability we see in the trees offered in the trade and in collections with the same names. It is often the case that they are indeed different. I actually feel that it is easiest to separate out Inabe shidare as its color will hold and it does not show that wide intermixing of reds and greens that Red Select, Ever Red, and Oregon Garnet will show. I think if we look at the Esveld photos we will see the color on Inaba shidare is actually quite different than on the tree Jim shows. What Vertrees likely had to struggle with was whether or not to try to separate out the trees or whether to group them. Sometimes it is easier in maples to group things. What Jim is giving us a chance to do is separate a bit. Now, if viewed in the spring to early summer we have some chance to see the differences; in mid-summer is is very hard and fall is not great either as we may not know what shade of red to look for. We will also fight cultural elements with these trees that may make the greens appear sooner and give us different shades of red to deal with. It takes the right environment and intensity of light to see the coloration Jim is showing. For example, in the cooler wetter Pacific Northwest, people may not ever see the color Jim shows. Here in hotter drier southern Oregon, I might or I might not. The dissectum I have in my front yard is now 4 years in the ground and was sold to me as Ever Red. This is the first year that it is showing what I feel are its true characteristics--the deep purple leaves on bright red petioles that are still holding color--I now think it is Inabe shidare. I have another dissectum planted the same time that was sold to me as Crimson Queen. After 4 years in the ground the leaf characteristics are still changing and I am not sure what it is. Both trees are 6-8 years of total age. Vertrees was in an area of Oregon where he would not have likely seen good color on all of these forms, providing he even had all of them. Michael
It will be more interesting if the difference coming from trees in different growing cultures but sharing the same name (for example Inabe shidare in Japan and in the US) is more significant than that of from different cultivars (for example Inabe shidare and Garnet) growing in close enough cultures (for example in Southern Oregon).
From my experience people do not want to know or will balk at the difference in color of a 'Inaba shidare' grown in Japan, let's say in Kyoto and a 'Inaba shidare' grown in Fresno. Today, when most people see both Maples a day or two apart they are much more willing to think in terms of the Maples being two different plants rather than being the same Maple grown in two completely different environs. Only the people that know 'Inaba shidare' well and understand the nature of that Maple will know they are the same plant in both locations. There are plenty enough people around that have had Maples for many years that will not know the two plants are of the same Maple. 'Red Select' and 'Oregon Garnet' were not raised in the same nurseries. One Maple originated in California and named in Oregon and the other was raised and named in another location in Oregon. The whole purpose for letting the one Maple go to Oregon was to see if the colors that were seen in California would be the same once the Maple had been in Oregon for a few years. The Maple was also sent to Japan to grow on and monitor. When the consensus was that it was different enough from 'Inaba shidare' then it was allowed to be sold, albeit only to a handful of nurseries that also had their own collections of Maples. The other Maple was monitored for about 5 years and then wood was outlet to various propagators and introduced into the nursery trade in a relative short time in comparison to the other Maple that came about several years previous. Either way both Maples are distinctly different than their seed bearing parents were, in this case 'Inaba shidare'. As far as 'Garnet', the true form came out of Holland and even though that Maple is considered a nursery industry standard Maple it is seldom seen for sale any more by the retail nurseries. Why? People do not know the difference between an 'Oregon Garnet' and a 'Garnet' and they are as different as cheese and chalk. Only the coloring of the leaves are similar whereas the shapes of the leaves, the structure of the leaf lobes, the growth habits and the care of the Maples makes them worlds apart. One Maple is much tougher to grow and see it do well for us than the other one is. One Maple is vastly more tolerant of hot and dry winds than the other one is as one of them will burn up in a heartbeat and will soon have some twig die back whereas the other Maple may show some scorch but will not fry. One Maple with one missed watering in warm weather will instantly tell us it is not happy whereas the other Maple has the ability not to show any ill effects for the most part until the next missed watering. As a landscape plant one is almost useless to us whereas the other has become a standard landscape plant in comparison. I've seen a lot of 'Inaba shidare' sold that were 'Oregon Garnet' instead but even the experts do not know how those Maples are different. With the ho hum who cares attitude that so many people have today, why should I tell them how to tell the two Maples apart? "I know and you don't and I don't have to tell you" was a favorite expression used by one of my mentors in Maples. "Show me you want to know and I'll be glad to tell you". Jim
Not sure why I am not able to get these Fall colored photos of Red Select in focus. I will post these anyway and improve on them next year if need be. The truer Fall colors are on the left side of the first photo but we can every now and then get some softer orange reds and some purple red also on the same plant depending on light and the intensity of light. The more intense lighted areas can develop the soft purple red tones and the less light intense areas can show the orange reds. The first two photos were captured on November 29, 2005 and the last photo was taken December 7, 2005.
Loved reading all these posts. I just purchased a "Red Select" having fallen in love with its bright red spring colour. A rookie to Japanese maples, I didn't realize it will turn green/red in Summer. Before I plant it, how will it look over-all from afar, green or plum. I'm planning to plant it with a taupe garage as a backdrop. I want the colour to stand out which it won't if it turns primarily green. Who can help.....I'll need to plant it soon.
