I am located in zone 7 in MD. I purchased this Inaba Shidare from a local nursery about three months ago, which I absolutely love. Since then the color has been gradually greening out. I understood that this variety was especially good at holding its color through the summer. Can anyone help me?
Hello, Well, it is a pretty tree whatever it is. Healthy, too from what I can see. Indeed Inaba shidare is known for retaining good color. The van Gelderens say: "Leaves dark wine red, not fading to a lighter color..." Vertrees/Gregory comments "deep tone of purple-red as they grow in the spring and retain the deep color all season." However, the authors differ about the fall color of the plant. I can't think of a reason yours is not behaving, except that it might be a case of mis-labelling. It looks like it gets plenty of sun? Too much shade can sometimes cause red cultivars to fade to green. Perhaps others will have a better idea. -E
I think it gets plenty of sun (even a handful of 90+ days), but I am very much a noob regarding maples. It faces the southern sky and is not shaded much. As a matter of fact some of the foliage scorched. A little more history...I noticed a yellow crusty fungus on some internodes which I treated with liquid copper which seems to have cured it. Apart from that, I have been watering regularly since I planted it about 3 months ago. I amended the soil with a 50/50 mix of soil (clayish)/leafgro and a handful of osmocote.
Glenb2, I also live in Zone 7 and have attached two pictures of my Inaba Shidare, one taken this Spring and the other last Summer. As you can see, my tree greens out considerably as it has since 1999 when I planted it. It is somewhat shaded by the large oak, but pretty much receives full sun. Many of the Inaba Shidares I have seen in this area green out in the Summer so not withstanding the the general comments on the trees color retention ability, I don't think your tree is mislabeled or acting unusual. The bright red color will return this Fall. Swanny
Thanks for everyone's quick responses! Is there anything that can be done to minimize this effect? leaf scorch?
