That's very interesting, and I'm thankful for the comparisons. You definitely have me more curious about the other two, and I'm glad to hear you like their form. It's interesting that some people consider Shin deshojo twiggy, and some consider Shin chishio twiggy. Right now I have a leggy 3-year-old Shindeshojo. I bought it cheaply and used it in an experiment to see if I could over-winter potted JMs here in 5b. I thought it had died, but it seems to be alive. I'm going to keep it potted and see how it does over the next year or two, then make a decision on whether or not this will be the main tree near our gate. I do prefer the pink-red color to the other crimson-red, but that's meaningless if it's not hardy enough or of it grows less vigorously.
Blinky, another question-- How would you describe the different summer colors of these three cultivars? Which one gets closest to a true green rather than a red-green or blue-green?
hi maplesmagpie, I personally find the summer colors of Shin Deshojo and Beni Maiki not very nice...both have green, bumpy and speckle leaves. However, near the end of summer, Beni Maiko puts on a very nice display of new orange/red leaves, which is quite welcoming to see. See attached photo.
If you're still around the forum, i'd like to know your thoughts on all 3 cultivars after all these years.
