OK. I've got this spot to fill and I'm struggling with it. I have a lot of restrictions, but I'd love to hear suggestions from the galley. First, no dissectums or linearlobums. They have their own areas. It needs to perform well in limited lighting. A little morning sun is all that spot gets. It will go between a Purple Ghost and a Orido nishiki. So nothing too tall. And there's not a lot of width there so no hugely wide trees. Don't get me wrong, there's room, just not a lot. I'd like to avoid duplicates in this garden area so it shouldn't be any of the following: Geisha Gone Wild, Katsura, Kasagiyama, Ueno yama, Brandt's Dwarf, Aureum (palmatum), Pixie, Amber Ghost, Coral Bark, Moonfire, Peaches & Cream, Tsukushigata, Orange Dream, Oshio beni, Beni shichihenge, Tsuma gaki, Fireglow, Ukigumo, Ueno yatsubusa, Shaina, Sharp's Pygmy. I included that area's whole collection, even ones that are obviously not candidates because of color duplication, in order to give a feel for what I like.
Acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' It is a bold yellow & won't burn in some morning sun. 'Autumn Moon would also work. It's great to see you are already having fun with it! So much for my two cents.
Thanks for the speedy reply, katsura. Actually, there's not enough sun for an Autumn Moon. I had one there and it didn't color properly. I moved it and it's a lot happier. Would a Jordan do well in a low light spot? Edit: I just reviewed the Jordan thread - Gomero's Jordan is in full sun and thriving. So my location won't work. But that stunning cultivar is high on my wish list. Of course, I'd have to have a sunny location for it first. Dang it. At one time I was considering Shin deshojo but I think the spring color next to the Purple Ghost would probably be too similar. What about something peachy? Is there something peachy? But really peachy. Not peachy for two weeks. Nor sometimes peach and sometimes green. Maybe really limey. People raved about Aureum (shirasawanum) glowing in the dark. Hmm.
Thanks for the thought. I was really interested in Ariadne but there's such a lot of variety in color expression based on sun/shade. I'm worried it would either be too red to be next to Purple Ghost or that it would be too dark green. I'm still liking the idea of Aureum, assuming it would hold its lime in low light conditions. After looking at Charlie's post in http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=62309&highlight=shirasawanum (#13) I'm also liking 'Mr Sun', 'Ogura yama', & 'Palmatifolium'. Have to look them up.
Shirasawanum 'Aureum' is surely one of the very best Japanese maples and the yardstick for all other shirasawanums, and it keeps its colour well in partial shade. Slow growing, so wouldn't overgrow its space quickly, but that also means it is hard to find in the larger sizes and potentially expensive. For peach tones I immediately think of 'Beni tsukasa', but it quickly changes to pink and then slowly to a sand-dusted green. Some pictures I posted today to try and illustrate the varying tones of this plant:http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=256726#post256726. Might green up a little quicker if the area is particularly dark.
Most maples do quite well in low light. I like A.j. 'Junihitoe', and have one in a lot of shade that is doing well. Its round, saw-blade leaves are my favorite of all the shirasawanums. Plus it seems to hold them in a pleasing horizontal plane. Slow growth rate. Another one that might be nice is A.c. 'Sunglow'. Has leaves that are a nice peach in the spring but turning light green in summer. A somewhat dwarf plant.
I think the A.s. 'Junihitoe' is very attractive but too dark a green for the spot. I love what I've seen of A.c. 'Sunglow' - it's at the top of the list. I'll have to do some more investigating.
Ooh, that's pretty, too. I looked into prices and found that smaller sizes can be reasonable but that larger sizes go up exponentially. Like OMG exponentially. Thanks for the heads up. I have to say I'm loving the idea of the 'Aureum' contrasting with the 'Purple Ghost' and worried that the "apricot" color of the A.c.'s would not be light enough. They might be too close in spring. But the veining and coloration were spectacular. But on the other hand, my 'Purple Ghost' and my 'Orido nishiki' are two of the largest trees I have and I wonder if a small 'Aureum' would look peculiar between them. I know, I know, poor baby... the trees you already have are big. Such a problem. LOL. Seriously though, I love those two, and for that reason they're in star position outside my kitchen window. I just don't want to throw off the lineup by putting in something too different from the rest. Have to think about this. Thank you everyone for the input. I really appreciate the ideas.
A few parameters need to be addressed: how much light are we talking about, how much direct sun and how much ambient light and for how long will the plant get ambient light. The reason why is darn few of the Maples that were listed as possibles will ever color up well unless they have more light than what I am gathering from that location. The other issue is how much space is there to work with. What is your preference for that spot, do you want a semi-dwarf, standard tree or a dwarf form. Then do you want an upright small tree or a small shrub like tree that grows wider than tall. The two best Maples I've ever seen for very limited light such as at Don Kleim's home whereby there wasn't any direct sun, ambient light in the morning for maybe two hours to dense shade by afternoon were Mama and Wou nishiki. Give me a reason to okay the Ueno yatsubusa you listed. As far as a Shirasawanum, 6910 may work out well but I'd like to know how much ambient light it will get. I like the growth habit of this Maple for limited space. Same can be said for Lovett which is a more upright grower. All three of these Maples came indirectly from the late Jean Iseli to a very select group of nurseries. I got all three of these Maples in 1990 from a source nursery that pretty much owed its start in the nursery business to Jean Iseli - acted and served as the nurseryman’s mentor. Jim
Sunglow is a fabulous maple, and keeps color really well in shade. But of course you can't go wrong with Aureum. I'd not sweat the color palette that much, it will vary year to year no matter how good your plans are... ;) -E
A couple of hours of early morning sun, but even that is lightly filtered. I expect as the 'Purple Ghost' and 'Orido nishiki' fill in the space will have even less direct light. Then for the bulk of the day it is in the shade of the house, which is about 25 feet away. But there is still ambient light for that time. And in the early afternoon the space gets a short shot of some filtered sun, maybe half an hour. Then the remainder of the day brighter ambient light, maybe even some heavily filtered sunlight. Come to think of it, there is a tall evergreen tree across the yard that is scheduled to come out this fall that may allow more late afternoon light to that location (doubtful) but will increase the afternoon ambient light even more. I currently have an A.p. 'Aureum' in the location that is a nice green. Not a kelly green, but not exactly lime. It seems healthy in the location so it's getting enough sun to be happy, just not enough to color up. As I mentioned before Autumn Moon in that location had no flush on its leaves. Just straight lime the whole year. In its new location (I still wish it had more light and will be moving it again) the parts of the tree in more light showed the color flush on the margins in spring and it's now very yellow-lime. I'm open to shape but I don't want it to look like a bush. Ideal adult tree would be around 10-12' tall and 6-8' wide. I'm willing to cut & trim; Hubby calls me his cliptomaniac. Re: Mama, not a lot of information out there. It does seem to offer interestingly shaped leaves and the green of it isn't dark, but I had hoped to find something a little brighter. Re: Wou nishiki, I really like the spring colors. I was concerned by the summer colors posted on the forum and especially the last post on the forum by sasquatch as he's also in the PNW and his tree looked to be deeper green than I would like. But this cultivar is on my someday list. Um. I'm not sure what you mean by that, could you please explain? I have one in the ground already at the opposite end of the garden. I chose it because I wanted early spring color similar to the katsura type but without repeating cultivars. When I got it home I looked it up and found only two mentions of the tree, both by you. The first one seemed to recommend it, the second came with a warning which is why I watch it carefully. So far, it's thriving. Didn't wow me. I liked the shape of what I saw (although I would trim to reveal the trunk structure a bit more), liked the fall color. Summer color looks like a deep green.
Most Aureum propagated and sold by Oregon nurseries are not the same Maple as shown in the second edition Japanese Maples book on page 54. Please look at that photo and note the coloring of the leaves, the size and shapes of the leaves which are closer in leaf size to the Kiyohime series of Maples, smaller than Koi kiyohime - larger than Kiyohime akame and about the same size as Murasaki kiyohime and Murasaki hime. Many so-called palmatum Aureum in Oregon are actually Aoyagi or are a form variant of Aoyagi, even seedlings from Aoyagi have been sold as Aureum in Oregon. If you have access to the old "Gold Leaf" Maple (Aureum) and there should be lots of seedlings of this Maple around as it yields true to type from seed (most of these Aureum in nurseries that have the old plant were not ever grafted), this would be a good choice for your spot along with Ueno yatsubusa (depending on the growing source and the rootstock used). Two notes of interest: Mr. Vertrees was wrong about this plant stating that the Spring color turns yellow in high shade. The old plant always has golden color in the Spring with red overtone on the tips of the lobes and red on some of the leaf margins. Late Summer new growth for us will also have the same coloring. The Maple in the photo was not a Vertrees plant, it was a Kleim photo of his Maple nestled in filtered shade in his backyard in Clovis, California. Seedlings of this Gold Leaf palmatum was the preferred, standardized rootstock (free of Tight Bark for years) used for a number of grafted Maples in specialized nurseries in California. Jim
That picture and your description match what I have observed. It even has some of that new growth in the very top if it right now. But I'm not tall enough to take its picture. If I have time and if weather permits I may get out a ladder and try. Earlier this year I posted my tree at http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=6898. In my second post you can see the "morning light" it gets. As I recall, the originating nursery for this tree was Buchholz & Buchholz. Hmm. Well, that is what is currently in the spot. Maybe I did better than I thought. The reason I am thinking of moving it and finding another candidate is because I'm worried it will get too tall. According to the second edition Japanese Maples book on page 54, "I would rarely expect to find a tree over 6 or 7 meters tall at maturity." As that is roughly 18-21 feet tall and mine is already a good nine or ten feet tall I thought I would move it four spaces down where it would get slightly more sun and where I want a tree of that height. I already have one in that garden at the opposite end. One of the things I'm trying to do is spread around the spring orange from Katsura and others of that type. This end of the garden is already heavier with those than the other end. That is exciting to know. I had wondered if I needed to worry about that. I'll have to watch for those. That is really exciting. I took that tree home on impulse and now I'm even happier that I got that tree!
This looks like a lot of answers with the same tree in A.s Aureum. it by far is one of the best dramatic trees for shade. As for Sunglow and Sunny Sister, great trees but very touchy with mildew. I had a 9' tall Sunny Sister which was specatular. this year the vargation was not as distinct as Buchholz photo. Murakumo is a great tree for shady locations. Sarasa nishiki is another outstanding tree. Coral Pink does well in shade. Two trees I have found interesting in shade are Chitoseyama and As Sensu. Chitoseyama has a nice peach color with the new growth and then turns an orange /green. red color with a great fall color. Sensu is just a great small tree, just look at Talon's photo, all of mine have turned that color at some point in the year. Aureums yellow and Ukigumos white are the two trees most people comment on in the shady places in my yard PS I have had Lozita in shady places and so far it has stayed a great red color, I have not seen greening on the leaves like other red trees in shade
OK. So I really wanted an A.s Aureum for the spot. And Charlie had two gorgeous ones. But I just couldn't pull the trigger - too spendy. But I promised the hubby I would fill that hole on that day so I couldn't leave without finding something. That's why Charlie and I did laps around his house as I looked at beautiful tree after tree. But trying to find shade tolerant, not red, and not party colored (variegated) to live between the Purple Ghost and the Orido Nishiki was a real challenge. I can't tell you how many trees I drooled over but that wouldn't fit the spot. At the end of the day I went home with a stunning example of a Sekka yatsubusa. As I was looking at leaf pictures on my phone in the rain it looked like the leaves would be limy green. Now that I'm home I'm seeing conflicting reports - some say lime green leaves, others say deep green. And some say fall colors red, others say yellow tones, and others say orange. Go figure. I'll have to take pictures after I find out what this tree will do in this location. I'd love to share a picture now (even though it's leafless), but the tree is still in the truck. So after I get it planted I'll share pictures. I love it's shape. Actually, it's a tree whose shape my husband has admired on previous trips to Charlie's place, but that I ignored because of its green leaves. Now I'm really excited about it.
The Sekka Yatsubusa is one of the more interesting trees, it has a very unusual growth patern which gives it a nature open pruning look. Of the thousands of different jm, it is one i always have planted in my garden.
I've had another "fun" day of planting. First of all, I chickened out about putting the Sekka yatsubusa in THE spot. I was all set to return it - but hubby fell in love with it! So I agreed to keep it. But on the way to THE spot, hubby chimes in with the idea that we should replace our straggly looking Beni schichihenge with it and I could still someday get what I really wanted for the spot. So we dig up the B.S. and stick it into a pot for the time being. But as we're prepping the hole we run into a drain pipe from the neighbor's house that shouldn't have been where it was. I look at the hole and I look at the gargantuan root ball and decide there's no way it's going to fit in the shallow hole. The three of us manage to drag S.Y. down to THE spot. I felt disappointed I wasn't going to be able to put a yellow in the spot, but happy to be making hubby happy. I mean, the tree is flipping gorgeous - nothing to be sad about. So we get a gargantuan hole dug, get the pot off the tree and SUPRISE it's a B&B. No wonder it was so heavy. I sent the boys off to do other yard maintenance and spent a solid 45 minutes working as fast as I could to get the burlap off. By the time I was finished, the root ball wasn't so huge anymore and I wonder if it wouldn't have fit in the first hole after all. When the boys came back I wheedled them into helping me push the tree back up the hill to the previous spot. The three of us managed to get it to and into the hole. It's mounded quite a bit higher than the surrounding soil so it looks a bit funny if you look hard. But the tree itself in the actual spot looks fantastic. I really love the peach tones to the bark and the deep salmon/red tips. And the shape, oh my. I'm in love. BTW, in case you hadn't already figured this out, the tree in the post above is m i n e now. :) Thank you, Charlie.
Joyce, you have one of the best examples of a Sekka Yatsubusa and yes, it is heavy. That tree sat right off my living room window and it was a tree i looked at more than most all of the trees. it is a much better looking tree than a B.S. tree!!!
LOL - I'm very happy with how fantastic it looks in its new location. But now I'm back to figuring out THE spot that was the focus of this thread in the first place. So, the immediate line up is Purple Ghost, available space, Orido nishiki, Brandt's Dwarf, Aureum (palmatum). My newest idea is to put a Bi hoo in the spot and swap out the Aureum (palmatum) for a Beni kawa. My biggest hesitations are that one person in the UBC thread mentioned pseudomonas issues with Bi hoo, I really wanted a tall tree in the Beni kawa spot, and I don't know that either would receive enough light to keep their pretty bark colors. Sigh. But it might be worth sacrificing the height for the sheer beauty I've been seeing posted regarding the two trees with colored bark. And I think it would work especially well because in the exact center of the bed (from the window) I planted a dogwood that looks like flame - it's a combination of red/orange/yellow (edit: it's called Winter Flame and it's stunning - it's been in that been for since Spring and still colored up only in partial light). So a red on one side and a yellow/peach on the other would be some serious eye candy during the winter blah's. On the other hand, two medium sized trees are almost as much as the big A.s. Aureum. What about A.s. Moonrise?
I have made a commitment. The winner is... Tsuma gaki! I found a stunning one at Charlie's (amazingmaples) that I just couldn't pass up. And on the other side of the house is another spot with almost identical lighting conditions. The winner for it is... A.s. 'Aureum'! This tree was also found at Charlie's and has a really interesting shape. I hope to plant both tomorrow and should weather/daylight permit I'll snap some photos. I'll post them in the cv thread. Edit: photos
Good choices winter, they must be two of the nicest Japanese maples, particularly in the spring and early summer. Please post some pictures when they leaf out. Edit: I very nearly posted last week that you seemed to be subconsciously gravitating towards shirasawanum 'Aureum' and you should just bite the bullet and buy one. OK, you didn't put it in "that" spot but I am sure you will enjoy it in its chosen location.
