Hi all, Right I've already got a shin deshojo but it's fairly young, bought last year for £13 at Costco on one of their sale trolleys. It looks like it's had the forced growth treatment so it was incredibly whippy and basically trailing, I staked it and this year it's 'almost' holding its own weight but the foliage hasn't been very strong. Anyway it'll be a while before I get a good sense of what this tree is like, it's still sort of in recovery mode and mostly shaded. I do get lovely spring colours and summer isn't bad. I also spotted a whole load of Beni Maiko at my usual garden centre which look incredible, but also quite similar to shin deshojo. Can anyone advise how they really compare in terms of when they leaf out, how much sun they both take, which are 'less fuss' generally please... Anyone have a favourite between the two?! In heading over to Credale nursery for my annual snoop around later today so I might get a Beni as the prices are so good! I have a list which is always a dangerous thing. Thanks, Chris
Hi Chris, Personally, I’d say SD is the better of the two from a stronger colour perspective in Spring and Autumn. I have small specimens about 60cm..so I’m sure they will improve with time..dappled sun location..but the mature SD at Westonbirt was truly stunning..If available space is not infinite I’d look at something other than BM. Not wanting to steer you off topic but have you got Phoenix? It seems that a variegated type is being sold universally in the Uk as “Phoenix”. It offers stunning Spring colours and interesting throughout the year.. Wilson’s pink dwarf is another that IMO offers something more than BM
I do have a phoenix but it was a super cheap Lidl special thing I grabbed for £7 a few months ago - again it's super leggy and needs a cut back then a soil change in spring as it's looking forced and foliage is a bit weak this year. Took a punt on it to see what it's like in a couple of years! I also have a small Hino Tori Nishiki which is the same as Phoenix variegated, so I probably have most bases covered for the corallinum types. I've just got back from Credale. Ed is a great bloke, happy to wander round with me and pick out the best stuff as usual. He had LOADS of really nice Beni Maiko in all sizes, there was a particular one in a 20L pot I was close to buying but managed to resist after quickly reading the above message (hardly any phone signal in Leominster!). I came away with 7 trees in the end, I'll post pics in the summer maples thread later.
This is my 5 year old Beni Maiko planted in a pot. The photo was taken in the end of April this year. The leave colour is best in spring and autumn, and it has no problem under full sun for half day. I don't have Shin Deshojo to compare, but have it on my wish list .
