Two week ago I purchased a Acer Palmatum Shaina. Following a recent visit by my mother in law she seemed quite concerned that quite alot of the central foliage was a pale green colour. She said I should get rid of the green foliage to prevent the rest of the maple from revering back to green. Is this correct? I am worried that just under half od the foliage is green and if I were to remove it I would have a very sparce maple.
interior foliage on my big Shainas have "bronzed" out to a dark greenish color be- cause of lack of sunshine but neither of my large Shainas have "pale green" leaves. I have both plants in full California sun. I would not cut out the interior greenish leaves because as I said I believe they have bronzed because they are not getting much direct sun. Good luck.
I read in the book Maples for Gardens:Shaina leaves deeply divided,two toned dark red and maroon,it is a mutant of an Atropurpureum...alex
yes, alex, those are the colors of the exterior leaves. Shaina is very dense thick and close noded (it is a sport) so the sun drenched outside leaves are as u say but because the leafage is dense the INTERIOR leaves do not get sun and so they bronze (darkish green with shades of red). It is a great maple, one of my favorites.
Thanks for your thoughts on this. I will try relocating the maple (although its not that sunny right now over in England!) and see what happens. I will keep you posted!
If your maple is planted I would not try to move it until autumn And remember ... we will have lots of sun later LOL
The maple is actually potted. The problem is finding a spot in our garden that is sheltered from the wind but has enough sun. And heres hoping for the sun!!!
I bought a small Shaina from a local nursery a few weeks ago... they had it in the shade in a pot and it was slightly green when I bought it... now that I have it planted in my patio garden at home it gets full sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. It quickly turned a glorious red that makes me smile every time I see it. I am not an expert - in fact I am a newbie - but from what I have read and have been told, most red JM's will turn green if they don't have enough sun. But that doesn't mean they are sick. Hope you get some sun for your Shaina soon so she can show you her true colours! Cheers! Asia
Thanks Asia, I have now moved my Shaina to a sunny part of the garden. Hopefully this will bring out it true colours!