Acer palmatum 'Sensu' 7/11/08 'New maple from Buchholz Nursery in Gaston, OR. Sensu means "folding fan". Leaves come out like a fan in a washed orange color with hues of green. As time goes on, the leaves turn a nice pleasant light green. Crimson fall color. Tree is good for narrow spaces since the habit is rather slender. 7-8 ft.' Almost looks like a Japonicum to me. We'll have to see how this one does in my heat and humidity.
Spring 2010, pictures taken today. Very nice form of leaves, subtle green and mine is a single, long and thin trunk, so the form contributes to show some unbalanced "flow". Really nice cultivar. Nelran
Merging the photo threads for Acers palmatum 'Sensu' and x shirasawanum 'Sensu' under shirasawanum 'Sensu' (and leaving permanent redirects). Assuming it is proven this maple is a hybrid, then x shirasawanum might be more technically correct, but both the originator (Buchholz) and the most up to date reference material (Japanese Maples 4th ed.) refer to this maple as Acer shirasawanum 'Sensu'.
Maf, can you help me to correct the post title to Acer Shirasawanum 'Sensu' instead of palmatum? Thanks in advance! Nelran P.S. Post name changed
Sensu is one of my favorite small maples trees, it has great color. The leaves make the tree in that they are like a fan just as the name translates. Here is a nice one I have which is about 7' tall and 10' wide. I pruned out the tree last year but found that it was not as attactive in an open form. It is much better in a bush form when the leaves and branches move together in the wind anshow off all of the great colors
I will be getting one of these later this week :) It will be going into a pot for now, so recommendations on sun tolerance would be greatly appreciated! Kaitain4, I would assume Kansas and Tennessee summers would be quite similar; how has yours fared and how much sun does it receive?
This is my tiny Sensu which I got last year. It has not grown so far and also the colouring stayed more or less the same. Hopefully it will make it through the winter and will start growing next year.
Sensu bare bones. It is a fast and ‘hefty’ grower for me. The main branches, now 3 years old, are about 1.5 cm thick. Also very resistant to cold damage wintertime, I have never seen any. Guessing that is a shirasawanum characteristic.
Love the contrasts of stems, fallen brown Autumn leaves and the ruggedness of the rocks N. Looks so wonderfully natural.
A. shirasawanum is hardier than palmatum. Of course many "shirasawanum" cultivars are hybrids, so they may be less hardy than the species.
Some more recent photos after my last post. Last new growth and fall colour, almost identical in colour.