Addicted to Japanese Maples....

Discussion in 'Maples' started by Jan M, Dec 6, 2006.

  1. blake

    blake Active Member 10 Years

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    I'm afraid I can't offer much help. The guy local to me doesn't do mail order and has only 25g specimens anyway so he wouldn't be an option even if he did. (He never received any smaller ones.) I am not certain but he may have told me that he was the only one to get them from the grower this year. If that's true (my recollection could be wrong) then your only source would be a gentleman named Carl Munn in Oregon. I don't know Mr. Munn, the name of his business, or even if he does retail. Google might turn up more info. For what it's worth, I have been told by a person very knowledgable about Japanese Maples and who used to contribute regularly to this forum that Mr. Munn is a reputable grower. Maybe others here know more but I'd say patience is probably required, perhaps next year it will be easier to find.
     
  2. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Hello Blake,

    Yes you're right, I know that those two A. S. cultivars are very delicate with heat and sun exposure (in general all Acer Shirasawnums are very tricky to grow). I also read some articles about the cultivar AS Moonrise and you're right: it's a little hardy than others A.S. for deal with our hot, sunny and humid summers. I will considering to add the Moonrise if I can find it, but still I want to include in my collection the AS Aureum and the Autumn Moon (well if I can find them). I'm planning to keep them in pots if it is necessary; (and even keep them indoors during extreme heat) I just got hooked with those A.S.
    There are a particular nursery that is growing JMs here in TX, . It's located close to Dallas, but I have not yet the oportunity to visit them. Its web has good info for JMs, also.
    Anyway, is good to know that you're also growing JMs in TX.
    Keep in contact.

    Nelson
     
  3. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    hi Hanl,

    Yes dig up the Sango kaku, check its roots and try to plant it with a good soil mix and spagnum peatmoss in an area that have good drainage. Good luck!!

    Nelson
     
  4. xman

    xman Active Member

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    Blake, Nelson

    Hello from yet another Texan!. I have also heard that the moonrise is better suited for the TX heat. Metromaples had a few 2 gallon one year grafts early this year but I was unable to buy them before they were all sold. I contacted Carl Munn and asked him about the Moonrise, and he said that he does not do mail order and did not have any smaller sizes for sale. I am planning to buy the 25g one as soon as I win the lottery.

    xman
     
  5. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Hi Xman, we're at leat 3 Texans with JMs! (By the way, I would like to get this AS Moonrise, so.... get an extra lottery ticket for me...

    Regards,

    Nelson
     
  6. Bill

    Bill Active Member 10 Years

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    I am in excellent maple territory on the West Coast, although they are hardy through most of the continent.

    I started in 2000 creating a mainly Rhododendron garden (up over 900 varieties now) and wanted to add some Acers for variety. Bought 9 in 2001 and put them in, figuring that was that, but got more and more interested. 2002, another 14. 2003, 23 new ones. 2004, only half a dozen and none in 2005 or 2006, but this summer made the mistake of visiting a nursery rich in Acers and couldn't resist coming home with another dozen.

    Running out of room for Rhodos!

    I have pictures of 45 of them up at http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/maples.html

    Trying hard to stop......
     
  7. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Well Bill, related with JMs... it happens very frequently, you can't stop. I can testify for myself behavior)
    I visited your web page, and it's simply amazing (I confess, I got little bit jealous from your garden). I think that now I don't have a garden big enough to include more JMs, but I'm still looking for some more specimens; so probably in a near future I'll have to change to grow them as Bonsais.

    With all these JMs specimens that you have, probably you can start a little nursery soon! (It's not too bad idea for a retirement plan isn't it?)
    congratulations

    Nelson
     
  8. Bill

    Bill Active Member 10 Years

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    With the 60 odd Acers and 900 odd Rhodos, not to mention various other trees (I forget how many Magnolias, Stewartias, a few flowering cherries and plums) all packed into less than an acre, the virtues of very small plants is becoming apparent to me.....

    We do get out into the garden to use it as well as work in it, and built a dining area - before I had a chance to plant over it....
     

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  9. emery

    emery Renowned Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    So Bill, not enough to embarrass our poor wine cellars, vicariously clog our arteries with foie gras, whiz past our sedans like we're going thirty, now you invade the world of maples?

    I fear I will soon be, once again, the country cousin! :) May you be condemned to imbibe Great Wall Red for a week!

    (Don't worry, it's probably just the 89 Font de Michelle and the marvelous 04 Cuvee Cecilia from Dom. Ambinos talking. Or maybe too much creme crue with the strawberries.)

    Welcome to the world of maples! Remember, there are many very beautiful maples beyond Acer palmatum. Nice pics on the web site, too.

    cheers,

    -E
     
  10. Bill

    Bill Active Member 10 Years

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    Good Heavens Sir!

    One finds the strangest people in the oddest places! I hope it was the Cuvee Etienne Gonnet (I have the 1994, a very nice wine).

    I do indeed appreciate 'other' maples - I suppose Shirasawanum only half qualifies (a sort of honorary japonicum?), but I also have a few others like A. tschonoskii, griseum, rubrum....and still trying to find a pentaphyllum.

    Problem is that maples in general tend to take up a fair bit of territory, and we are talking about less than an acre to play with, so careful calculation as to placement and choice of cultivar is called for. Had I not already planted a few large trees like Albizia, the Stewartias, the odd Salix, a pretty good sized Davidia, a Parrotia, 20 odd Magnolias....you get the idea.

    Now what are you doing frequenting a site in my figurative back yard? Are you an Acer fan yourself, or do other plants draw your attention?
     
  11. blake

    blake Active Member 10 Years

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    "With the 60 odd Acers and 900 odd Rhodos..."

    Just 60? You've got a long way to go to get to a respectable ratio. ;-)
     
  12. blake

    blake Active Member 10 Years

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    You two please stay in touch. There is such a small amount of information available to us about growing Maples in Texas and which forms do well or struggle. Any information we can share amongst each other will be very valuable.
     
  13. emery

    emery Renowned Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Ah, sadly, it was the traditional cuvee. I possess only a couple of bottles of Etienne Gonnet from 1989; and have promised to share them with Professor Lipton. In my defense I point out that twas a simple lunch. And with my lunch, less oak is more. In any case, a good bottle. ;)

    A, shirasawanum certainly qualifies as a Japanese Maple, and perhaps even as an honorary japonicum given the frequent and sometimes ongoing confusion involving certain cultivars -- including one you have, 'Aureum.' Although it was moved to shirasawanum some years ago many nurseries still sell it as A. japonicum 'Aureum.' (I refer to the Golden Full Moon maple, of course. The common name promulgates the confusion, seeing as how "Full Moon" is certainly A. japonicum!)

    I'm a bit of a maple fanatic, I admit. While my collection of palmatums is limited to around 15 or so, I have the advantage of having a rather large garden, surrounded by a larger property. This lets me explore larger specimens. (Which reminds me, I'm hornswoggled as to how you fit 900 rhodies on an acre. Goodness.) My count of Acer taxa is nearing the century, and apparently growing rapidly. A modest collection to be sure, but I do profess some poor knowledge of the species...

    I too have the occasional other tree: an Albizia as well, a Cornus or six, the odd Tilia or Acacia. Davidia is actually on the list of non-maples to plant next year, along with several Sorbus, Cercidiphyllum and a few more dogwoods.

    But maples are my "thing" (along with wine I guess!) and your back yard hosts one of the great centers; not to mention a pretty good web forum. So I've enjoyed hanging around here some.

    cheers,

    -E
     
  14. Bill

    Bill Active Member 10 Years

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    Well good to have you here and if you ever get out this way I'll pop a Gonnet assuming I haven't given in to temptation by then!
     
  15. emery

    emery Renowned Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Sold! And of course, ditto for this side of the pond.

    -E
     
  16. Bill

    Bill Active Member 10 Years

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  17. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Bill, Emery,
    I know that Vancouver and Normandy don't have our Texan’s weather, but I share Blake's petition: both of you seem to have a lot experience dealing with JMs (among others plants that you count by hundred!), so please stay in touch with us. I modesty only have around 20 JMs and I'm figuring out how to plant most of them in my (almost) new backyard and at same time, trying to avoid "fry" them during our intense hot summer... so any advice you can gave us is welcome!
    Bill, about your picture, looks like you created a small and special forest for your delight....
     
  18. Bill

    Bill Active Member 10 Years

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    I moved back into the old family home in 1999 and had to deal with a half acre of blackberries 10' high...

    It was kind of fun having a tabula rasa to start with, only the trees and a very few larger plants (a few rhodos included) being fixed elements. My wife thought me mad when I started to plant rhodos in groupings after clearing the blackberries - it was very hard to see what my eventual intention was, but she has come around now that the flat field with a few rhodos has become beds that make sense. The leavening of other plants was added a year or two later.

    Attached is a red maple - a Bloodgood, probably - I planted back in the dark ages - both winter and summer shots, and a few of sparser times 5 years ago before everything started to come together and the beds were finalized. Also a pic of the drive with a load of rhodos (half had already been planted.

    I have maybe 40 potted rhodos, mostly species from the Rhododendron Species Foundation waiting patiently to be planted in the garden as soon as I get around to it. Oh yes, and maybe a dozen Acers.....
     

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  19. dfw_lr

    dfw_lr Member

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    Before you surrender to the Texas heat, there is something you might want to try. There is a fabric called Temptrol that is supposed to reflect 95% of heat, which is even better than the radiant barrier paint I have in my house.

    This product would be super for use instead of shade cloth for heat retention or reflection which is what you would be interested in. It comes in 59" wide rolls and cost something like $4.40 per yard. That would make 10 yards of this cost under $50.00 and would yield a sun barrier 9 feet 8 inches wide for the top of my greenhouse. Turned reflective side out you would get the 95% heat reduction. This is cheaper than good shade cloth and it is UV protected, and it can be sewn on a standard sewing machine.

    The site shows many uses. I asked about weight and he said it would be like a heavy bed sheet material so the shipping should not be bad. Beacuse it's perforated, it does transmit some light, and air and water pass through it easily. I'm asking for a free sample. Everyone should check it out.

    The website is: http://www.radiantbarrier.com/temptrol.htm
     
  20. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    That's a beautiful garden, really. Some day (and I hope not too far); I expect to be rewarded with something like that. Unfortunately, I don't have any large three surrounding my area. I had to plant all of them, starting from "ground", including drainage, beds, grass, etc. My garden barely has 3-1/2 months, but slowly it's taking some good shape. Soon I'll post some pictures.
     
  21. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Welcome to the post, dfw,

    Yes, you're right searching some thing to protect JMs from sun and heat. I already have some of my JMs protected with a temporary shade cloth. June and July have been unusually and continually cloudy and rainy for this area; so the JMs are thriving fairly well considering that this is their first season in this area. The heat does not a big problem until now. Try the product and tell us your opinion.
    Thanks for the info.

    Nelson
     
  22. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    I will, for sure, Blake.
     
  23. dfw_lr

    dfw_lr Member

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    Sorry, I've been busy lately and forgot to post.

    So the sample for the Temptrol came in. It looks pretty cool. Basically a mylar like material bonded to a cloth backing. I tried ripping it. No dice. pretty strong stuff. It also wouldn't be any louder than a normal tarp flapping in the wind (as vs mylar by itself).

    It does have small pinholes in it, so it would let water through if it were to rain. It also blocks the light almost 100%, except what light gets through the pinholes. If it weren't for the holes, it could be a blackout cloth.

    I put my hand near this stuff and could feel the heat being reflected.
     
  24. nelran

    nelran Active Member

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    Hi everybody, It looks like all of us have been pretty busy this summer. In my case, here in Texas I was dealing with hot, humid weather last 6 weeks: not so good for my JMs!!. Most of them got severe leaf sunburn and they drop most of the leaves. Fortunately, my Viridis, Sangu kakus and Seyrus already replaced all their leaves. Furthermore, the two Sangu kaku have small tiny flowers with the new leaves. Is it normal?
    Anyway, I would like to know how are the rest of you JM people: specially Texan's fellows (Xman & Blake) because Im assuming you were dealing pretty much same conditions that I have here. Also, Hanl did you transplant your JM Sango Kaku? How was performing the rest of your JMs during summer?
    and from the other side of the pond; Jan M, how are your JMs? Are you trying to grow new cultivars? I hope hear soon from all of you, and keep in contact.

    Nelson
     
  25. xman

    xman Active Member

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    Nelson,

    Actually this summer in TX is a lot milder that what we have had over the last few years. All my maples are holding up a lot better this year, they all have some scorch (10 -15 %) but a lot less compared to last year. All my maples are in containers, so it is easy to move them around away from the direct sun.
    I made the mistake of leaving some of the maples locked in a uhaul for 30 minutes in 100 degree temparature while I was moving, burnt the leaves to a black crisp.
    Waiting for fall to get some more, to scared to get them shipped in this heat. Saw a couple of 4-5 ft aureum moonrise in the Dallas arboretum, I will try to post the pictures.

    xman
     

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