The wonderful pictures that have been shared here the past few weeks remind me of the saying that 'a candle burns brightest before it dies' which certainly seems true for maple leaves.
I love the last colors, a bit wan and imperfect, but somehow more poignant and beautiful for that. It reminds me that in ancient Chinese culture the maple was a symbol for sadness and solitude. R., your colors are dashing away now! Where do you have the name 'Crispifolium' from? I have reference to an unverified cultivar of that name, otherwise there is 'Crispum' which has a a long history, as does 'Crippsii'. Many different species have a cultivar called 'Crispum' in fact! Cheers, -E
Hello E - Thanks..my leaves are running away I know that for sure! The photo of the Red Pygmy didn’t do it justice..lovely colour on that this year. Any idea why all of my Japonicum of various cultivars have disappointing colour this Autumn?The only exception was 2 Aconitifoliums, they were superb. The printed card with the tree said Palmatum Crispifolium, which I thought was a synonym of Shishigashira..ive referred to this particular tree on here to both names interchangeably.. However Mr Shep says in the 2012 thread below it’s a cultivar in itself… Alain K also provides comment I’d be interested in any comments.. During the summer it’s the most solid forest green of any of my trees…and Acer palmatum Crispifolium
Our 'Red Pygmy' was beautiful this year too, more red than yellow/orange as normal. I didn't take a picture of it, and since it's going in the ground this winter it will no doubt sulk for a good long time. (If it survives the experience!) I'm not sure what Shep was getting at. A "well known nursery in England" (like Hillier's?) introduced 'Crippsii', which was brought to the US and has been misspelled and mangled both before and after. (Crispy anyone? :)) That seems to be what Shep is describing, but only he knows for sure. 'Crispum' is certainly a legit cultivar, it dates to Siebold in 1870. The leaves of 'Crippsii' do resemble Shishi, but they're larger, and the form of the tree is completely different. We had disappointing japonicums also, they froze and then it wasn't mostly very warm. When it did get warm, the leaves burnt. Some, like 'Emmett's Pumpkin' had deep red leaves from July, which eventually just shriveled off.
Interesting E thanks. My red Pygmy is a real mix of yellows and bright reds..like fireworks this year! It’s strange I have a 10ft Green/yellow Scolopendrifolium (it’s not the red one) lost all its leaves early this year and the red Pygmy has held out completely. My Japonicum’s looked fine throughout the summer but just dropped without much of a show..some dieback on Jordan this year..which is odd. I think the lack of sun this year has something to do with it.
Good morning everyone, hope everybody is having a lovely weekend. The colours are coming to an end now here in Southern England, but I still have a few I've not posted this season to share. These were taken a few minutes ago. They are:- Katsura, Shishigashira, Autumn gold, Peve Ollie, Skeeters Broom, Satsuki Beni, Red Pygmy, Emerald Lace x3, Mikawa yatsubusa, Ruslyn in the pink, Starfish, Deshojo, Ariaki Nomura, Red Flash and Elegantulum. D
A nice and quiet autumn weekend here. Some are still getting there but here are some pictures from today. Shishigashira and Ruysen in pic 1. 2x Kamagata, Pixie, Kamagata, Orange dream, Osakasuki, Mikawa, Shirazz, Oregon sunset and Jerre Schwartz.
On my travels yesterday and dropped into a garden centre nr Worcester..amazing selection.. Bit naughty but I picked up the following. Nice 5year old trees..15-20mm trunks £25each Ichigyoji Pixie Herbstfeuer Westonbirt orange Kinshi Beni otake Komyo ji Elegans Momiji-gawa nicholsonii Shishigashira
Japonicum Attaryi - it has the largest leaves on any of my trees maybe 9/10” Palmatum sp, Going green maybe (bright green in summer) not sure what cultivar but it goes a nice yellow in the Autumn
Last ones with leaves on. The palmatum in the ground, and a small 'Atrolineare'. The 'Arakawa' lost all its leaves in the summer, it's in too small a pot and I forgot to water it just one day. I thought it was dead, but it has pushed out new leaves. Now that all the leaves are gone, I saw that I had not collected all the seeds on 'Sango kaku' :
My Osakazuki is looking pretty nice today. We are still having calm and sunny autumn weather, perfect for a day of working in the garden.
Here, in South-West of France, we are having cold temperature without any sun, so NO working in the garden ... Funny !
I always think "These are my last photos of the season", but my big maple still has leaves on. On the right, Prunus pissardii, in the background Zelkova serrata (rather disappointing colours this year). What strikes me is that the leaves were about the same 3 weeks later in 2020 :
All the maples that have been featured on this thread are beautiful, I especially like those that look like burning embers. We have to hold on to these images until the first buds begin to unfurl next spring.
Yes, that's what I like about deciduous trees, the rhythm of the seasons. From an LP I bought in 1976 when I lived in Dundee, Scotland:
Splendid. And I love the Queen. ;O) The kind of stuff we would listen to when I was in my teens. We were naughty kids.
