Mine's been sickly as well. Since I put it in the ground it's suffered a little bit of die back every year. It's ungrowing!
witches brooms do experience die back and sudden death. I don't think anyone knows why - perhaps it's their undersized root ball/mass. I have a large Shaina that like mapledia alawys looked great in full sun but this year has noticeable die back. I hope it does not suddenly die. I am sorry for your loss, mapledia.
Last year i bought three very large Shaina, all three had horrible die back. This last spring they all seem to have a lot more dieback but yet as i look at them today, they seem to be very full with only a few holes. Over the last few years i have lost several Shaina, aratama and kandy kitchen and when i break them up for the trash pile i find they have very small root systems. I feel like there must be something about the witches brooms which keeps them from generating the energy to grow roots. I would guess that their is truth to the fact that they were hit with some sort of virus since they are an abnormal growth on a tree.
The interesting discussion of dieback of witch's brooms is continued in its own thread: Dieback and related issues concerning JM witch's brooms
Winter-time,the only chance you get to see any wood on this cultivar.As can be seen(and perhaps luckily)any vigorous late-ish growth gets killed off,even in a mild winter like now.
Here is a new 'Shaina' in my garden. It is close to 5' tall and 9' wide. It is about as perfect of a Shaina as I have seen. it is a new arrival from one of the display gardens of Buchholz. I noticed that in post #4 of this thead this tree "may" be seen in that photo. not much taller but wider in 10 years
This was the largest of the three mature Shaina I purchased this last winter. The other two Shaina were trees which i had been trying to buy for three years, as it turns out i ended up getting them from a tree broker and not the original nursery.
Re: Acer palm. 'Shaina' Hi Nelran, While looking around for pic of Shaina, I noticed your post came from Houston, TX. It is amazing that you can grow JM in Houston weather. I used to live in Houston back in the 90s. Are there other Acer palmatum or other Acer that you can grow with this weather?. How do you keep these JMs away from the Houston heat knowing they do not like to be indoor either?. Thanks, Steve
My Acer palmatum ' Shaina' has one of the deepest reds of Japanese maples that I know. It is also very hardy and tolerates a lot of sun, which it needs to keep those lovely deep colours. If you want a maple that stands out then this is the one for you. Photo no 2 taken in my garden on the 15th June 2020 is typical of this cultivar.
The difference between older leaves and second flush are now very distinct on the 13th July 2020. Gives the appearnace of two trees.
I cannot believe with all the heat this Sumner, that my Shaina is still pushing out new growth. But I am not complaining, as the colours of old and new leaves is wonderful IMO. August 3rd 2020 photo.
13th August 2020 and the heatwave has now taken it's toll. New growth and old all suffering. But as promised I'm adding these photos to show how cultivars cope at different times of the year and in different conditions. Some definatly not pretty, so have not put them on the Cheering ourselves up with maples thread !!!! This is where they should be. Shaina is doing OK, a few mark's, but acceptable in these extreme conditions.
21st August 2020, two named Summer storms are going to hit later today with winds of 50 mph plus, so I thought it better to take photos early. All have picked up this last week due to cooler conditions and long awaited rain. The colours are changing !!!! As ROEBUK said only yesterday about the rather weired new growth this August. I thought I would show my Shaina. You can see the older leaves beneath this sudden spurt of growth.
All the colours are appearing now on all my maples and as promised I will keep the photo diary going to show the transformation. So much rain now and new growth, the new shoots are loving this weather at last. Added this one rather quickly after the last posting, but the reasons I hope are clear to see. How many shades of reds are on my Shaina atm !!? Photo 23rd August 2020.
26th August 2020, the day after a very strong storm. (Francis). An update as requested. So many amazing colours now. So after the storm my Shaina decided to put out even more new growth.
1st September 2020 and the very first Autumn dew arrives after a rather cold night. So many colour reds on my Shaina this morning.
8th September 2020 and the heat is returning, but very cloudy. My maples will enjoy this as long as there is no more new growth. The new growth has held on and more is following. Lots of die back on the way I think!!!
13th September 2020 and the sun is shining and it is getting warmer and warmer once again. So I hope my photo conveys this lovely near Autumn day. Shaina just loves the early sun.