I have always had some difficulty with these two, so I'm starting a thread to (hopefully) sort them out once and for all. Here is a picture of the 'Fairyhair' and the 'Koto Ito Komachi' that I own. Both come from very reliable sources that I know have the REAL form of each, respectively. The Fairyhair came directly from Talon Buchholz as a liner from Eastfork Nursery, and the Koto Ito Komachi came directly from a man who was given a tree that's direct progeny of the original KIK that Vertrees found as a chance seedling in Oregon. As you can hopefully see from the picture, they look very different to me, but similar at the same time. Both have a medium green leaf (if you can even call it that), are two years old each, about 7 inches high, and have very fine lobes. However, the KIK seems to me to be slower growing, as the Fairyhair has many more shoots and looks a whole lot more vigorous. Also, the Fairyhair has MUCH bigger leaves--I measured both, and the KIK leaves are 1 inch or less on average, while the Fairyhair's are 3 or more inches on average. Finally, the KIK shows the famously twisted lobes, while the Fairyhair shows negligeble amounts, if any. I don't know if they are just different strains from a very finely leaved green linearilobum, but I just wanted to sort it out because many believe that there is "no such thing" as a KIK while I very well know that there is. And also I've seen and heard (unfortunately) that Fairyhair and KIK are supposedly the same. What do you think? David PS: Sorry, I forgot the picture. The KIK is on the left, and the Fairyhair is on the right.
Hey David, Is there a way to view 2 somewhat mature specimens of FH and KIK? Seems like it would only be one persons word vs another unless there were side by side comparisons of trees that had some age to them. There is quite a discussion about this topic on the maple forum. Also regarding the differences that you note between your plants, I wonder if they could be attributable to the different root stocks? Not saying that they aren't different just that with very small trees distinctive traits may be latent. Wondering how old could the most aged FH be?
The fairy hair definitely resembles mine in leaf shape and size, and I can concur that it seems surprisingly vigorous. Mine has put out one shoot this summer that is nearly a foot in length.
I think we all agree that the FH seems more vigorous! But the KIK does seem to be different in that the leaves are almost curly and it definitely looks tighter in it's growth. It seems that the FH will end up looking more open while the KIK will remain a dense "bird's nest" of growth"...but both are beautiful plants and I am very fortunate to have the definite real forms of both. David
I thought of something else. Could the amount of light and water affect the growth rate and or leaf size and shape of these two trees? I agree with Poetry To Burn that we definitely need a picture or more of a mature FH and KIK because it seems they practially don't exist. I know the original KIK tree is still on Vertree's old property. Any chance of getting a photo? And Talon Buchholz probably has a picture or more of a mature FH because he is the originator. Just a thought, David
