Hi all, My brother and I bought my father a nice Aka Shigatatsu Sawa (Samurai) from Westonbirt Arboretum last year for his birthday. He loves it, but he is a little worried about it right now. He went away for just over a week, and asked someone to water it for him as it was quite warm and sunny. As I understand it, on his return he was shocked to see the new leaves had turned pink, and were droopy (this could be rain I thought). I haven't seen any photos of spring growth being pink on this cultivar, can anyone reassure me (and him)? Is this normal?
Looks normal to me, but do be careful not to over water. Make sure the outer pot drains freely so it's not sitting in a pool of wet. -E
That is normal for early spring color and leaf shape for me as well. The color should fade towards a cream and green combination with overtones of pink in the more sun exposed leaves. The leaves should flatten out a bit too.
Phew - thanks very much emery & matt! Emery - the outer pot also has a layer of pebbles in the bottom so hopefully it should never be sat with feet in water. My dad is wondering if it is worth potting up into the outer pot this year or whether to wait until after the growing season, but that's another question :) I love this cultivar - going to see if I can find a cheaper/smaller specimen for myself this year :D
I agree it looks perfectly normal. You can find a small one, but even in a container it will get fairly large pretty quickly. Mine has stabilized at about 4 feet across and a couple of feet tall.
As an aside, I would not pot up into that outer pot ever. The rim is narrower than the main body of the container, and your dad would never get his beloved maple out again without smashing the pot.
Great thanks - that's definitely a consensus of opinion there :) When I say small - I really mean younger (and therefore cheaper)... I already have a couple of bloodgood, a couple of standard acer palmatum, an orange dream, and a few non maple bonsai... I have the tree bug, just can't be splashing out hundreds... Hmmm - good point! Maybe it can stay in the inner pot? It seems to be quite mature - similar size to jaquot's - perhaps a bit taller.
You shouldn't have too much trouble finding some reasonably priced small trees. Some of the forum members might have some recommendations for nurseries on your side of the pond :).
I can recommend a nursery that stocks this maple: Hippopottering, they do mail order, or they usually have a stand at most of the UK garden shows. 2-3 years old for £15, 5-6 years old for £40. I purchased a few small trees from them last year and was impressed with the quality. Not the largest trees for their age, but they have been grown outdoors in Yorkshire so you can be sure they are pretty tough.
Excellent maf, thanks for the recommendation - I am salivating already. I am sure my dad will be too when he catches up with this thread :)
