Catapiller Well I'll be! It sure does look like one. Good Eye. Try your eye on my 'Seiryu' pictures and let me know what you see.
Here is a little Acer palmatum 'Ukigumo' that I have planted in the landcape. It's kind of slow and I think that it may show more variegation if I open up the canopy above it so that it get's more light. Sometimes you can see the mottled variegation better if you are looking up under the leaves.
I've heard of a snakebark maple but not a snaketree maple Did you put this snake in the tree or did you even know it was in there when you took this photograph ?
Snake Oh yeah ...I saw him there and I ran for the camera. I wasn't even going to post pictures of this 'Ukigumo' due to it's lack of character. I think the snake adds to it. The tree will probably give a good show once it gets to some size and if I remove some small Oaks nearby thus opening the canopy. This snake, Rough Green Snake-Opheodys aestivus, was on a 'Seiryu' last year. It may have been a cousin, I'm not sure if it was the seme reptile. Take a look at the 'Seiryu' thread and see if that one has the same twinkle in his eye. They apparently like Japanese Maples.
My Ukigumo, after being eaten by deer last year seems to be recovering well. I was told when I bought it that the more shade it received, the lighter the leaf colour. The original place it was planted is now in full sun so I put it in a pot and moved it into full shade. It has not totally leafed out yet but the leaves are much lighter. As this is my first post I hope the attachments work out ok.
Here is the reddish-pink color we can get from Ukigumo as early summer approaches. Photos from today 6/10/05.
I haven't experienced this reddish or pink blush on any of my 'Ukigumo's. All of mine came from one plant that originated from Wright's Nursery in Canby, OR. Mine are basically white on green.
Hi Brad, In these photos, you will see the most white on green veriegation that I get. This tree starts out with a pink hue on many leaves right away. The veriegation is more subdued than yours with the green base being very prominent. I have always admired the white-green veriegated "standard" form and have only come to like this one as it is growing on me. The new growth later in the summer will show no veriegation, just basic green. Gets a little maddening when this stuff happens. I am not sure who is the source for this form now in Oregon, or if it is being separted out by any particular person. I don't think that many of the growers care so much around here about distinguishing these sorts of things--they just lump them together and leave it to the collector to sort out--if we can't sort it out, we just end up confused. To clarify, I don't think they realize these types of differences exist. Michael
I have two Ukigumos from two different European sources and both show some pink but the basic variegation is clearly white/green. Both are in dappled shade without direct sun. The new leaves are also variegated.
hello, this is my first spring with an ukigumo that i believe is in it's second year as a grafted plant. i received it last summer when all but two leaves were a medium green. the leaves that were different had only the slightest speckled variegation of a lighter, pale green. in anticipation of it leafing out, i looked in the gallery just now, to see what i could expect, and was a bit dismayed to see, from all the posted photos, that perhaps i should change it's current location. i am cringing as i write, that as my balcony faces due south, it receives direct sun from morning until 2 pm. first, is it better for an ukigumo to receive a short period of direct sun, or a long period of dappled sun. and second, have i already jeopardized it's chances of coloration this year. it held up rather well in the california heat last summer, with only the tips of it's leaves going dry. thank you for any suggestions you may have. ^_^ n. musume
hello, my ukigumo is nearly finished leafing out. the amount of differences in sets of leaves is interesting. if i uploaded correctly, the leaves that receive the least bit of sun, toward the bottom of the plant seem to be evenly green and lightly speckled with white. the next photo and set of higher leaves, has odd ruffled edges, and are slightly more yellow green. you can see them to the lower left of the plant in the widest shot. then there are the set that are plain green, wide, and smooth, just above them. finally, the top of the tree which has the lightest colored leaves. i left the tree where it was, and it still receives full sun until about 2 pm. i can't tell if it has had any adverse effects yet. temperatures have nights in the 50's and days in the mid 70's. thanks for looking ! ^_^ n. musume
Hi Neko, I wouldn't be too worried about your tree not showing a lot variegation. For the most part your tree matches the description in the 3rd ed. of Japanese Maples. The leaves with less variegation are edged in pink with lighter spots throughout the leaf. While it might appear to be reverting I don't think it is on closer inspection. For all intents and purposes your tree looks very healthy. Variegation can and will vary from year to year. Different factors can come into play...culture (specifically the amount of light, fertilizer ie, too much nitrogen, temperature, etc.) can have an effect on variegation and singling out one or the other may not be the cause or lack of variegation. In general some plants will green up with more light while other will green up with less light. Same goes for nitrogen...more nitro wiil green up a tree, even a non-variegated red cultivar, while less nitro will cause less greening up. I don't have an Ukigumo personally so perhaps others can chime in as to the whats or whys about their Ukigumo showing more variegation. But, I wouldn't try and "force" a tree into variegation. Your tree is very healthy and it might be best to just let it be. Layne
thank you for the reply, layne. despite the differences of the leaves in this tree, i'm encouraged by the fact that my ukigumo does seem to be healthy and i'm hoping with age, it will put on a more predictable and consistent show. perhaps i am hoping for too much as my subject is a variegated type. i agree with your comment on the influence of a plant's culture in it's appearance, as you wrote in a recent post. i'm actually keeping an eye on my few maples as to what temperature, fertilizer and amount of sun will do to a certain maple. i've only had mine for a couple of years but i already see changes from last year and will post them in the gallery when they finish leafing out. i'm also waiting to see if my ukigumo will start to look like mjh's as we approach summer; with more pinkish tones appearing in the leaves. i love how gomero and warren's plants look, in the gallery. thank you again, and it is times like this when i wish i had two of one plant to experiment with, instead of having to wait an entire year to learn something new. ^_^ n. musume
Neko, I think there is a good chance your plant will look like mine with the right care and culture. Not to say I use the right "care and culture" but if you are able to create a similar situation, you should see the pink come up in yours. If you look at the our maples you can see a similar distribution of leaf sizes and shapes and if I was to post pictures of the emerging leaves on mine you would see that look about the same as yours. I give mine and awful lot of sun and it had minimal nitrotgen and the colors you see with the heave rose pink overtones is probably a more stressed situation. I see that sort of coloration a fair amount when we have some unusually hot days in the later spring. We rarely see the plant that Gomero pictures here. It is a very different Ukigumo.
Young Ukigumos grown in containers with ample water and fertilizer often have less variegation than older trees. As the wood matures, it seems to leaf out with more color.
thank you mjh and sliver_creek for your replies. i will post more photos when changes begin to occur. my tree is in a pot, and i was careful to fertilize it very sparingly last fall and not at all over the winter, with diluted applications of either kelp or fish emulsion. i'm hoping that didn't affect it's color this spring. in any case, i wouldn't feel comfortable giving this tree absolutely no fertilizer at all, depite that fact that i've read that too much of it can be detrimental to a variegated plant's albility to color up. thank you again ! ^_^ n. musume
When looking at my Ukigomos as the leaves appear, I understand why they are called 'floating clouds'. The small, whitish leaves look as if they were floating buffeted by the wind. Pics taken today. Both of them are in containers, no fertilizer. Gomero