Acer palmatum 'Viridis'

These are two photos of my 'Viridis' purchased and planted in the Spring of 2003. The first photo was taken in October and the second in November after the color change. I am guessing this tree is 4-5-6 years old.

 

Re: Acer Palamatum 'Viridis'

This is a photo of the leaf color on my Acer "Viridis" taken today, Fall is late in Virginia! this tree usually peaks at the end of October, but still has all of its leaves and is only about 10% turned - nice gold/orange/red color though.

Swanny

 

Here is my only AP 'Viridis'. I bougth this tiny specimen a year ago. It was in really bad shape, so I baby it with good soil, shadow in summer and a good dosis of water. See how it looks like, now (with its first leaves of this year). It leafed out completely in few days!.

 

Here is one of my viridis in fall color, this tree has been in complete shade all year.

 

Picked up this Viridis at Lowes the other day; thought the shape was rather unique, and the low graft a definite plus. The root system looked quite healthy when I repotted it. And at 60% off, I couldn't really say no.

Any suggestions on the best sun exposure for it? I have a few options in mind for planting next spring...

 

Loving this cultivar more and more each year. Some sun exposure is definitely needed to produce vibrant fall color, found this out last year. The first year in the ground - 2013-2014 - it was in nearly complete shade and fall color was yellow. Last year, in preparation for our move to AL, I dug it up late summer, and the pot was moved around a few times, each spot having significantly more sun exposure than when it was in the ground; fall was a riot of color.

 

I have a nice Viridis that I planted a couple of weeks ago. It's about 3 1/2 ft. tall and has not started leafing out yet. I think it will get just enough sun exposure to provide nice fall coloration.

 

I find this cultivar to be very tempremental with regards to what colour it's going to show during the fall period, i have three of these cultivars and have had them for numerous years now all growing in the ground quite happily, now what i have noticed is the following if the season is a relative warm and sunny one they always tend to show predominately yellow colours with slight orange /red hues but if we have a dull wet season the reverse happens they seem to show more in the red/orange and green why i do not know?

So i tried a little experiment in the fall of 2014 i lifted one of the small 1/4 standard Viridis and planted in a large container see pics 1 & 2 before and after as you would say, big change in colours as you can see, now in pic 1 this tree was planted there for years and every fall came out yellow thats it never any colour variations, but once it was moved into a container the fall colours were amazing.

The third picture is a medium sized short Viridis taken in the fall of 2014 again here in this spot for years and i might also state in a very shady area? again same tree in the fall of 2015 but it's decided to be a lovely orange/red colour this time,bearing in mind we had a very wet dull summer in the UK.

Last my very large Viridis this has been in the same spot for ever!! and as never really shown any decent colouration through out it's life until last year bit of a mixture of colours here nothing really to predominant in either yellows reds orange etc just basically a nice colour as you would expect.

So the large one was earmarked to be lifted at the back end of last year mainly because it was starting to grow very large for the spot it was in and i wanted to move it while it was still physically possible for me to do so, so all my Viridis are now in containers all in the same spot receiving the same amount of sun/shade and theoretically they shold all turn out the same beautiful vibrant colours?? roll on October.

Just keep moving them and see how they progress they certainly like been in containers i have found.

 

Very interesting observations Roebuk, thank you for your input! In the ground, mine was yellow, but in the pot it had more vibrant colors too. Mine is likely going to be in the pot for this season while I figure things out in our new yard; guess we'll see what kind of show is put on come fall :)

 

I find this cultivar an easy one to miss in a garden full of colourful greens and reds in the Summer months. But in Spring, if it is placed properly near to rocks and dark bark as mine is, the leaves stand out.
I have found this cultivar to be quite hardy in the South of England, it does become a bit temperamental in the Summer with heat. I would advise a sheltered position.
I have attached a photo of early April and a close up of the leaves in June during the 34°C heat so that you can see how it fares. I will do a posting in October for the Autumn colour.

 

Two photos today 22nd July 2020 after it was discussed about an ID. The greens will soon give way to the bright oranges and finally the yellows of Autumn.

 

The dark greens in Viridis should make anyone considering buying this cultivar to think about placing it near a yellow shrub where it will stand out to it's best.
I love the glossy leaves after or during rain. Hope you agree.
Photo 24th July 2020.

 

The heavy rain and warmth in July has given my Viridis another push of growth. August 5th 2020 photo.

 

August 6th 2020 and extreme heat is forecast over the next few days, so I thought I would post photos of my dissectums before and after to show how they cope. This I feel can be useful for people considering buying a particular variety.

 

25th August 2020, the calm before storm Francis arrives. 3 weeks on and how my Viridis is changing every day now. All shades of green, oranges and yellow. This will not stop until the leaves drop.

 

August 29th 2020 and Autumn colours are very fast approaching. It even feels like we are in October today rather than August. 7° C at the moment.
I have had new growth also to go along with the changes towards Autumn.
Might as well have everything this year.!!!

 

23rd September 2020 and the first full day of Autumn. We have lots of rain so the dissectums come into their own IMO.
The greens have held up so well on my Viridis, the next few weeks it will explode with colour. But for now the beauty that is green !!

 

24th October 2020 and my Viridis has turned to give those yellows and orange colours that this cultivar is well known for.

 

22nd March 2021 and Viridis is not just a Summer and Autumn maple, early Spring shows some lovely colours against the green branches.

 

29th April 2021 and my Viridis has now started to give out those wonderful greens it is so well known for.

 

17th May 2021 and a close up of a leaf of my Viridis. I have posted this as it was discussed a couple of days ago if this cultivar and Filigree are the same or very similar.

 

Definitely different Derek. Filigree are variegated. The have like t a white/lighter inner margin. I’ll go and take photos of mine. For me there are 4 main green dissectums. Viridis, Filigree, Flavescens and emerald lace. There others are so similar that they aren’t worth having. Although that depends on your level of obsession and the amount of room you have. If I’m wrong please feel free to correct me. Its 7am and my eyes aren’t fully open yet lol

 

Hopefully this will show what I mean

 

Good morning Luke. It's halfway through the day for me Lol. I haven’t got Filigree so can't compare. It was just a remark from someone a few days ago that made me mention it.
D

 

Flavescens is a much brighter yellow, especially when first leaves out and tends to have more of a yellow autumn colour rather than the beautiful oranges that Viridis gives