Hi, this is my 1st post. I have been reading these all day and truly impressed with the wealth of knowledge in here! I have recently fallen in love with these JM's. I have gone a little crazy purchasing some small grafted ones which I am very happy with. I have 20 so far. I also have 3 from several years ago which I purchased but lost the ID tags to them. Before I keep going crazy buying things I may already have, I thought of asking you folks your advise. I did not realize that many young trees look totally different from adult size. For right now I only have pics of one tree. I think it is Seiryu, but not sure. I would love someones input. Thanks so much!
Thank you! When you say related seedling, do you mean a non-grafted tree? Sorry for my ignorance, I am just learning all this. I did look for a grafting scar but could not find one. By looking at the pics, do I need to prune this? Also, one more ?.....Does this make the tree less valuable as a specimin for further grafting? Thanks so much for your Time!
I would be 99% sure that it is Seiryu, due to the fact that it is the only upright cutleaf on the market (at least that I know of). But I do agree with MJH1676, that you can't rule out the possibility of it being a seedling, perhaps from Seiryu. Do you know where you purchased the tree from? Perhaps you could contact them and determine for sure if the tree was a grafted Sieryu. One way or the other, it really doesn't make the tree more or less valuable, unless you intend to propagate it, in which case you really shouldn't propagate it without knowing for sure it's true name. As far as pruning it, I don't think its necessary. Seiryu is pretty vigorous in its early years and it forms a nice upward vase shape, as yours appears to be doing. Brian
Oh yeah, before someone corrects me, Seiryu is the only "green" upright cutleaf on the market. I believe Lionheart is also upright, but more of a red in color. B
Thanks mjh & Brian... This is Great! Do you have any idea how many websites and books I have gone thru to get this answer? I sent one of the dealers on eBay which I have purchased several JM's from the same pic and he was sure it was germaines gyration.....But I didn't agree, I think you 2 are correct. I also have 2 others I need help with if anyone is willing. This one is supposed to be Red Dragon, this is tagged. But the colors don't look the same to me. I have this tree in total Full hot sun with no leaf scorch. I purchased it from MASS. 5 yrs. ago. I wasn't sure it would take the climate change but is doing good. Thanks so much for your input!
No, you don't need to prune it as that it the way that Seiryu grows. You might start to cut back the lowest branch right near the ground if you think you might not want it there for asthetic reasons. Usually you would be able to see a grafting scar on a tree that young so you might have to look closer. Also, when I said related seedling, I meant "seedling of Seiryu" as they do come relatively true from seed. So, someone could have germinated a seedling and sold it to you. As Brian said, neither here nor there. As for the Red Dragon, I am pretty certain it is not right for that plant although I cannot say for certain what it might be without some more seasonal photos and even then the red dissectums are difficult.
Hi Everyone, I believe I was in the wrong forum before to be asking for ID help. But many thanks to those who did reply! I have one more JM I cannot ID. I have had it 2 yrs now, I forget where I even bought it from. This is in a full sun position with no leaf scorch. I have recently become very addicted to these little beauty's! Thank you all so much for your help!! B Hmmm, I just changed all this and I have no clue how to "move" it to the right forum.LOL
Actually this is the correct forum for identification of maples! (If one ever needs to move an entry, a note must be sent to one of the moderators.) It is a great start to get out the ruler and measure the leaves and petioles to try to match descriptions given in Japanese Maples by Vertrees; it helps in narrowing down the possibilities. I have been told that positive identification of a cultivar is difficult by photograph, especially with a young cultivar, so I still have a few with questionable identities. As your collection grows, do know that Japanese maple cultivars are often mislabelled, unless you purchase them from reputable nurseries, which specialize in maples. The rocks and ponds look great, and the maples are a lovely complement. I wanted to note that vinca is aggressive here, but I don't know if variegated vinca, which is planted near the second tree, behaves similarly. If so, I would move it away from the maples. Also, in order to protect the trees from disease, we typically recommended that mulch (including stones) not be placed up to the trunk, so I would pull back what looks to be pine mulch around the trunk of the third tree.
YIKES! I have a lot of correcting to do. Not only do I have pine straw around the trunk or the third tree, it also has that weed fabric! I am on my way ot the door now to correct these problems.....Thanks for saving my trees. B
On a second reading, I notice that you purchased some of your maples on ebay, which is fine if you have been happy with the trees at the price. However, as noted above with nurseries, the chances are good that the labelled tree may not be what it reads, but could well be a seedling of that tree, or an entirely different cultivar if it is grafted. Check near the base of the trunk for a graft on these remaining two, to be sure it is a grafted, and hopefully named, cultivar. It is not at all correct to label a seedling of an Acer palmatum cultivar the same name as its parent, even if it seems to come true to the parent, but it happens. Nevertheless, seedlings of Acer palmatum cultivars are beautiful trees themselves, but should be so labelled.
