Acer palmatum 'Taylor'

This is a very recent introduction from Europe. It was grown originally by D. Van der Maat from Boskoop and presented to the public in 2004 It has won several awards. It is not easy to find.
The main interest is the pink color that remains throughout the summer. I bought one plant two weeks ago and it was all pink, however now it has become whitish, maybe it does not see enough sun (or too much, I have to find out). The second picture shows the new leaves this week.

This link http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2005/live/video/plants/Acer_palmatum/wm_large.asp
contains a video of the plant.
Regards

 

Hi Gomero,

I missed this post at first--sorry it has gone without comment. Nice tree, a welcomed addittion to any collection. I wonder if people will see the value in the white and pink as the RHS has?

For comparison sake, I think we can see some similarity to what Yano shows on his website as 'Kocho nishiki'. Ctertainly, one would want to know the parentage of 'Taylor'. Any ideas? Is it a seedling selection or a sport maybe of 'Butterfly' or a like variety?

What would seem obviously bothersome is to have the the link you provided bill the tree as "pink all season" and "ideal for a shady courtyard" and then have the tree turn mostly white on you. White being desireable also, but the pink is quite unique.

Great find!
Michael

 

Hi Michael,
I bought it at Hillier's Garden Center in the UK and they could not tell me its origin. I found out who the the 'creator' was via the internet and at my next visit to Boskoop I will try to find out if it was a seedling.
My guess for keeping the pink would be morning sun and afternoon shade.

Kind regards,

 

Compare the photos of this Maple with the
two photos I have provided. Been waiting
for the right opportunity to show this one
and I have more photos of it.

The one I am showing is an old Maple
from Japan. Not many people have had
this one even though it has been around
for a number of years, since 1972 in the
US, since the late 1800's in Japan. The
pink will hold almost year round in cooler
climates such as from Roseburg, Oregon
northward and in cooler areas here in
California. Here, we get what many
people feel is a high white when it
actually is a cream color in direct sun.
In indirect sun the cream will be more
of a yellow color instead. The leaves
have a layered effect for their placement
which separates this Maple from all, well
most all, of the old true form Butterfly
and the old true form Roseomarginatum
types Maples (there was more than one
form of the old Maple, one had a high
white (cream) and the other had a high
green, the third form later became Kagiri
nishiki).

Look in the Butterfly thread in the Maple
photo gallery and tell me which Maples
shown as Butterfly are closest to this
Maple. The leaf shape of Taylor is
closer to the counterpart of Butterfly.
What I am saying without going into
too much detail just yet is that this
Maple is not unique and is not new.
It is still a worthy Maple to have in a
collection but probably should not
have been named by using old school
Japanese reasoning which no longer
seems to exist much any more.

Jim

 

Jim,

Thank you for your post and contribution to this interesting discussion. We all learn from contributions like yours.
First, from information I have just obtained, I would like to confirm that 'Taylor' is a seedling.
Now I cannot argue with you on whether we have here a new cultivar or not, you probably have a point. I am just an amateur grower with only a few years experience with maples. Maybe those who gave it an award were more knowledgeable than me.

When I saw it at the nursery in mid June it looked pretty spectacular to me all pink this late in the season. I've been told that it turned whitish here because the sun in southern France is a little stronger than in the UK where I bought it or than in the Netherlands where it was grown and observed first. Therefore it would be better if we make an assessment based on the aspect of the tree grown in the right conditions. Since mine it is still in its pot I will move it to dappled shade.
Looking to your pics and those in the Butterfly thread, to me they look different than Taylor. In addition we need to make sure that we are comparing trees at roughly the same growth stage during the season.

Kind regards,

 

If we know our Maples it will not matter
when we see the trees in their glory for
color. June in England and in Holland
will be different than June where you are
in Southern France. I would think your
Maples are ahead of theirs in a growing
season. A case in point was a reference
to a Daffodil in these forums in which
someone in England stated that the one
pictured would bloom in April there,
same as mine do near Yosemite. The
difference is that mine here bloom about
the second week of February. The same
scenario happens in Maples is that our
Maples here will leaf out much earlier
than most anyone's will in Oregon. We
can be as much as a month earlier than
Eugene will be for example. So, with
that in mind how far along was Taylor
when you saw it in June? Answer the
question next June when you have had
this Maple in Southern France all that
time.

I am not saying this Maple is not worth
having but there are characteristics shown
with some of the examples in the Butterfly
thread that do show some similarities to
this Taylor Maple. Does that make it unique?
No. Does that make it new? Not to someone
that knows the 4 forms of Roseomarginatum
and will know them upon sight. A seedling
raised in Holland recently does not mean that
pretty much the same Maple could not have
been raised in Japan 50 to a 100 years earlier.
Do we even know what the seed bearing parent
of Taylor was? It used to be that the RHS
would insist on having proof of the parentage
before they would even recognize the plant,
let alone accept the name.

By the way the two photos I showed were
taken over six weeks apart.

Jim

 

Hi Gomero,

, I was searching the posts, for any info on Acer Palmatum Taylor, and came across this thread on the said maple.
I am shortly going Holland, and will be visiting Dick van Der Maat, the grower whose daughter discovered this seedling. When I was researching the cultivar, he kindly sent me the attached jpeg of A.p Taylor3 growing in his garden. I thought it might be of interest to you Gomero, incidently how is your tree fairing?
I hope to be a proud owner of one this time next week.

Ashizuru

 

Hi Ashizuru,

I trust you are enjoying your trip to Holland!
My Taylor (which is in the gorund in shade) came out strong in the spring almost all pink. Then it lost about half of the leaves followed by strong regrowth with more green this time. Now it looks pretty much like your picture except mine has less leaves. It does look fragile though.

Kind regards,
Gomero

 

Re-reading last year's posts I would like to say that, at least from what I have seen this year, it does not look like any of the 3 butterfly or the Kosho nishiki I have. Leaves, colors, form, all look sufficient distinct.
Here are two pics of last spring (Mid April), all pink then it behaved as explained above. No white at all this year. It seems as if its behaviour last year was the result of the tree,that grew in the UK under shade cloth and then was moved to a warmer climate in June, adjusting to its new conditions. This year it has been stable in its place and is probably showing its true traits.

Gomero

 

Hi Gomero,
yes thanx, I had a great time in Holland, and managed to get A.p.Taylor from Dick van Der Maat, I was talking to Peter Gregory just before I went, telling him of my intention to purchase Taylor, and he was telling that there had been a few problems in the UK with Taylor, about it dying back and not performing to well.

How ever I did ask Dick about these issues, he said that the problems he had heard about was where Taylor was being grown in poly tunnels, which apparently it does not like.Also taking into account the summer we have had this year, hasn't help matters.

He showed me around his nursery, and all the trees looked in very good condition, this years winter grafts looked very healthy,especially Taylor.

The stock plants had an exceptional lot of samaras on them, they were picking them ready for stratification etc..I really enjoyed my meeting with Dick and his Wife they were very hospitable and a mine of information.

He was telling me they have nearly a thousand different cultivars of Japanese Maples, and has been growing them for thirty years or more.

I also called at the van Gelderen's and spent a bit of time looking round, I think the weather had taken its toll on some of the trees I saw. Autum was on its way.

Well Gomero, I hope your Taylor grows well, I have potted mine on 1& 1/2 sizes up, ready for its winter quarters, cant wait for next spring!

Kind Regards,

Ashizuru

 

Hi Ashizuru,

I also was at Dick Van der Maat this week and he told me of your visit. I fully agree with you on the excellent condition of his trees. He claims that it is due to his utilisation of the approach called 'effective micro-organisms' which seems to be a comprehensive approach including seed germination, soil and treatment and implies the exclusion of any chemicals or amendments. This approach seems to be widely used in Holland nowadays but I have not found suppliers of it in France to give it a try. I looked at the roots of some of his 1,2 and 3 year old grafts and I was pretty impressed by the root development.

With respect to Taylor, he told me that the leaf loss in my plant may be due to mildew to which Taylor seems to be sensitive. It is true that the very hot and dry conditions in July have triggered quite a bit of mildew infestation in my maples.

Gomero

 

An update on this recent cultivar.
In its third year in the ground in my garden it has finally shown its full characteristics. It unfolded a gorgeus pink, all the leaves, and has stayed like that so far, unlike all the other Spring pink cultivars that have now faded to a greenish pink. Definitely different. No dieback with a very healthy look. It stands out nicely against a dark green background. I definitely recommend it.
Grown in dappled shade with a couple of hours of sun in early morning.
Pictures taken April 29th, 2007.
Gomero

 

Hi Gomero,

I must say I like your pics of AP Taylor, I'm glad to hear it is doing well, it certainly looks good. I was at Dick's nursery last week, looking at his amazing display of Taylor,and others. He was telling me he is trialing Taylor in full sun this year just to see how it performs, He sent me a pic, earlier in April of his specimen in his garden, looked really terrific.
Mine is in its second year, not showing its best at the moment, its in a 1ltr pot, I might consider potting it on after the first flush of growth is over, and see if it improves.
I succumbed whilst at Dicks and bought 4 more cultivars,AP kaga o tamagwa, AP kuro hime, AP diss roseo marginatum, & AP sai ho chi have just potted them on into 1.5 ltr pots for the rest of the year until I decide what to do with them, as they are all fairly dwarf with small leaves, ideal for bonsai.

Had a walk round Dick's nursery, he was saying every thing is 2 months in front, they are suffering from drought, the ground was full of cracks and dry, which seems funning as the water table is only just below the surface, lets hope they get rain soon.

Ashizuru.........

 

Looks like a stunning tree to me and is one I must look out for next year

 

I just got in a nice one from Topiary Gardens. I took a few pics - sorry, but it was pretty cloudy...

 

Hi,

Looks a nice healthy tree, happy growing,

Ashizuru.......

 

Thanks muchly!! :D

 

Indeed a wonderful tree K4! I'm jealous already.

David

 

I bought a Taylor this summer, and it looks just like yours based on the original photos from the beginning of this thread.

I hope mine will look as fine as yours after 3 years.

 

Buy this spring in the Dick van der Maat nursery...
amazing..

 

I'm having no luck at all with this tree. The first photo shows my first specimen which died after 1 winter:on inspection of the corpse turned out to be 2 weak seedlings.
Photo 2 is a grafted 1 I got last year
Photo 3 and 4 this year, the latter today.
I dont understand what has happened to it as it was in a pot right next to Ukigumo and that is fine.
Oh well hopefully its still alive.

 

D97 i have similar experience..

 

Well, 2 years after this post, my tree does not look very fine. The hard winter made our local rabbits creative when it came to food sources, so the tree was pretty much eaten "to the bone".

However, it is still alive and now has some 30-40 leaves sprouting from the few remaining stumps. Its not pretty, but it is alive...

 

My 'Taylor' also proved weak and died.

Rabbits: fine on my plate but reviled elsewhere...

-E

 

I did not get a Taylor but what i did find out is it is not a good tree for production since it has death issues. In the business it is a double whammy to provide someone with a tree that pukes.