I am hooked on color. I'm creating a bed that is going to be about 130' long with varying depths. The background will be a mixture of evergreens and deciduous trees. In the foreground will be Japanese Maples creating an "Acer Alley" next to the house. So I would really like to hear from you all out there what you feel gives the most color during the growing season. I love color changes, but most of all I just love bright color for as much of the year as I can get it. Right now I have acquired for the bed: Peaches and Cream Oshio Beni Shin Deshojo Orange Dream Tsukushigata Higasayama Oki Kasame Otto's Dissectum Trees on the short-short list are: Kasagiyama (I think this will look great next to Peaches but would love to hear input) Kagero (I'm on the fence about this one) Shishigashira, preferably an Ojishi with "spring flush" (fall color and summer curl make up for the green during summer) Ueno homare (hopefully this is actually yellow in the summer) Taylor (I want one like Gomero's!) If any of you would like to caution me away from trees on the short-short list and/or suggest an alternative, I would REALLY love to hear from you. If there is a tree that I have missed that is a must have, PLEASE let me know. As it stands, if I put in everything I have acquired plus those on the short-short list, I should have room for two additional trees (as long as they don't get too tall or big). I'm also staying away from linearlobums, they're going in a different section of the property. The Osakazuki family I have planned for another area as well as they are mostly green until fall. And I have a spot picked out for one spectacular Seiryu that is in yet another area. I have acquired an Autumn Moon that is in yet another bed, so while I love it's color, I'd like to concentrate on acquiring as many different acers as possible. Oh, I already have an Orangeola, Katsura (probably) and a Kamagata in a different bed. The Orangeola I may end up moving to Acery Alley. I've seen different information as to how big it gets. Anybody want to chime in with a definite answer? I've read 3 meters and I've read 3 feet. Quite a difference! I look forward to hearing from you. Think COLOR COLOR COLOR! :)
Katsura would be a better choice than Orange Dream Aoyagi is a beautiful shade of green and is yellow in Autumn
Ha! You know you have maple fever when you are creating acer alleys! I just did my acer alleys on either side of the drive with a smaller one in the back yard. As far as color goes, I think it depends a good deal on your light conditions. Tell us more about those. My place has a fair amount of shade (perhaps too much?) so I drifted towards those with spring interest and away from those that require full sun to shine (although there are parts of the place with each). I think almost all JMs that are popular here are capable of some amazing colors, so it then becomes a question of what will thrive in your growing conditions Anyhoo, of the top of my head, my choices were: Right Alley: Seiryu Kamagata Mikawa Yatsubusa Shin Deshojo Beni Schishihenge Murasaki Kiyhohime Osakazuki Geisha Gone Wild Higasayama Tiger Rose Shigure bato Ukigomo Left Alley (a bit longer): Tamukeyama Shishigashira Aratama Jiro Shidare Orange Dream Sister Ghost Kasagiyama Olsen Frosted Strawberry Shigatsu sawa Wilson's Pink Filigree Sensu acer island (don't ask) Baby lace Kamagata Sharps Pygmy Backsection : Baldsmith Orangeola Beni Mako Villa Taranto Koto No Ito These aren't in the right order and apologize for any cringe inducing mispellings.
So you're into color, are you? Here are a few suggestions: A.p. 'Chishio Improved' - 10ft. spreading tree. Starts out with bright pink-red leaves in spring, looking something like candy. Leaves change to green for summer, then bright red for fall. The best of the "corallinium" types. A.p. 'Cindy' - 12ft. upright, narrow tree. This one should be on everyone's list. 'Cindy" keeps her deep maroon leaves all season, even in shade. Mine only gets an hour or so of sun a day, and the leaves are still as red as a beet! Red in the fall. Fabulous for shady places where you want some impact. A.p. 'Amber Ghost' -8ft. upright tree. The leaves start out yellow and pink with dark veins throughout. Green and amber leaves in summer, with some purple, then red and yellow in fall. Very unique coloration. New growth is also striking. A.p. 'Edna Bergman' - 12ft. upright, spreading. No other JM has this coloration. The leaves start out a bright brick red, then change to a bronze green infused with rose. The color is soft and luminous, and is enhanced by the bright pink petioles. I got more comments on this tree from garden visitors this year than from any other. Needs a fair amount of sun to maintain the coloration, and some room to grow. Fall color is a BRILLIANT, screaming red. A.p. 'Japanese Sunrise' - 15ft. upright tree. Let's not forget winter interest in the garden! Limbs on this tree are bright yellow blending to bright coral-red in wintertime. Nice yellow fall colors. A.p. 'Asahi zuru' - 25ft. LARGE upright tree. One of the absolute best variegated cultivars. The leaves come out pink and white, changing to green with pink and white splashes, dots and stripes. Sometimes and entire leaf will be pink or white, and sometimes all green. The delightful surprise - variegated bark! The red bark has stripes and spashes of bright pink. This cultivar does not "revert" readily like many variegates. Fall colors are spectacular yellow, orange, and red. The leaves look like a "sunset" with all the colors blending into each other from the center. A.p.d. 'Edgewood's Golden' - 8ft. mounding dissectum. Something different in a dissectum. The leaves are brick red with green-gold centers and veins. The bark is also a luminous green-gold. Wonderful golden fall colors. A.s. 'Moonrise' - 10ft. upright. A Shirasawanum with brilliant red foliage in the spring. Changes to green-gold for the summer. New growth is also bright red. I've posted a few pics of some of these cultivars. Hover over the picture and you can tell which cultivar by the file name. Cheers!
Thanks, guys. That gives me a few names I hadn't researched yet. I'll play with color combos and heights and see what happens. Oh, and growing conditions... Pacific NW on the water, so fairly temperate. Doesn't get too cold or too hot (much). This space in question is between the house (2 stories) and an established deciduous tree privacy buffer. Which I am augmenting with evergreens and pruning out overgrowth like crazy. The space went from being dank and dark to some sun. The light patterns in that area are actually kind of weird because our northern latitude and the mature tall trees established in the neighborhood. Part of the bed gets morning and late afternoon sun. Another part gets morning only. Another gets afternoon only. And yet another gets filtered light/shade all day. So I have lots of options - sort of. LOL
BTW, the current plan is to have, in a wandering staggered sort of way... 1. Kasagiyama 2. Kagero 3. Peaches and Cream These three would be in the shadiest area of the bed Then, already in the ground, is an 4. Acer Griseum and a 5. Himalayn Paperbark Birch (which, while not JM's, will form a grouping with 6. Shishigashira - not yet purchased) 7. Ueno Homare (I'm still debating between Akane, Ueno Yama and Ueno Homare for this spot. I'm leaning towards Akane (9') or Ueno Yama (13-20' that's quite a range - can anybody narrow that down?) because the 20' I read for Ueno Homare would likely be too tall. I'd prefer a medium size here.) At 9', Akane is the most likely winner for this spot. But I really liked the idea of yellow summer color with Ueno Homare. Maybe I can just bonsai him and keep him reasonably short. Hmmm. 8. JM TBD (to be determined - should be under 6 feet, more like under 5) 9. Oshio Beni 10. Medium sized JM TBD 11. Shin Deshojo 12. Orange Dream (which I've had this plant in a pot from March to present and it has shown glorious constant color, although it was outshown at one point by my Katsura) 13. Tsukushigata (not loving the placement of this one, maybe too far back - I was considering position 8, but that puts him right next to Oshio Beni and I don't know that I want those two next to each other in the fall. I'm trying to spread the reds throughout the bed) 14. Taylor (maybe - does anyone know the fall color?) 15. Higasayama (in the ground) 16. Oki Kasame 17. Otto's Dissectum
You may want to look at a few dwarf trees to help fill in some of your smaller areas. I didn't see a lot of them on your list. I thought of a few colorful ones you may want to look at - A.p. 'Tsuma gaki' - 8ft. or so. Yellow-green leaves with LONG raspberry-red tips unfold in the spring like a flock of Oragami birds. The effect is stunning! The red tips remain for a very long time. Orange and red fall color. The name means something like "red-dipped fingernails". A.p. 'Abigail Rose' - 3-4ft. This is a dense and colorful dwarf. The variegated leaves are patterened like those of 'Higisayama', but with lots and lots of pink. They hold color better in summer. Fall color is oranges and reds. A.p. 'Mimaye' - 6-8ft. Lime-green leaves turn lemon yellow in the fall. Very compact, layered habit, with small leaves that hang down - they look like little parachutes! I love this one. A.j. 'Fairy Lights' - 6-8ft. Very feathery and upright. Has wonderfully dissected leaves for a japonicum. Fall colors are a kalaidescope of just about everything imaginable. A.p. 'Beni hosi' - 4ft. Thick, stocky limbs and dense purple-red leaves that get washed with green in the summer. Bright yellow fall color. A.p. 'Kandy Kitchin' - 4' Pink-red spring leaves, purple to green-purple summer leaves, depending on the amount of sun, and strawberry-red in fall. A.p. 'Komachi hime' - Forms a 3' tall x 5ft. wide "bun". Spring leaves are yellow with a bright orange edge. Fall is orange and red. Cool little tree! A.p. 'Otome zakura' - 6ft. Red and pink in spring, green and red in summer, and pink mixed with scarlet in fall. Graceful habit. A.p. 'Ryuzu' - 4ft. Dense foliage and thick limbs. Leaves are small and pointed, emerging orange and green. Nice green in summer, followed by a carnival explosion of color in fall! The leaves are spotted and splotched with yellows, greens, reds, purples, pinks and oranges. Looks like they were paint-splattered! Incredible! A.p. 'Sherwood Elfin' - 4ft. dwarf with deeply divided leaves. Leaves are somewhat of a cross between a dissectum and a matsumarae. Partially weeping habit. Red in spring, maroon in summer, crimson in fall. Very slow growing. This one has a "smoky" quality to the leaf color that is hard to describe. A different color that plays up well with brighter plants. A.s. '6910' - 8ft. Has wonderful serrated leaves - very stiff and papery. Yellow-green in spring, red and orange in fall. Very "refined" looking. See pics below. File name tells you the cultivar:
Are you looking for names of just Japanese maples for color, or did you want names for other shrubs and trees in that area? You said there would be a row of maples, but you mentioned other plants too.
Very nice K4!. Looking your pics, I have memories of my A.S. '6910'. Sadly gone this year. I need to try again with a new one.
Nelran, I love '6910', 'Junihitoe', and like cultivars! I think the leaves are just the coolest! They look like they were cut out of paper with pinking-shears. So different... The Japonicums are also a passion, and I especially love my Woods#2 at the moment. I love the way it holds out the leaves (see pics). Even though its a tiny plant, it somehow already looks "ancient". I think its the way each leaf is held perfectly horizontal and away from the stem. I'm hoping it will put on some nice fall colors before the leaves get frozen.
Hey K4, you're tempting me. I already have 'Junihitoe'; and Woods#2 looks fantastic. As you can guess I'm specially passionate with Japonicums and Shirasawanums (although they have the reputation to be the most difficult to grow in Zone 8 and beyond). But next year I'll will add this two specimens to my collection (I guess that I will find some space in my already full garden). Thanks for that wonderful pics, K4! Nelson
All of you, thank you so much. I have a lot to dream about now, thanks to your input. MD, in response to your Q - I want COLOR, COLOR, and MORE COLOR. I love the way Japanese Maples give me year round color (some of them) and huge blobs of color at that. I live in the Pacific NW and I am subject to the winter blahs. So in Spring, I want an explosion of color. And I'm a little bit nearsighted, so I really like how the JM's can give me a Monet effect when I look out into my garden. So, no, I am not confining myself to just JM's for this bed. But I do have to be selective. I'm trying to augment the deciduous trees and shrubs already present with some evergreens so that I have year round privacy and interest. Which is a challenge, because really the bed is already over full with tangled overgrown stuff. I've been deadwooding like crazy, but I don't want to remove too much before I have other things established to take the space, but can't plant till I've created the space. A chicken and egg thing. I'm trying to walk the line between over adding and over subtracting. Plus I really like variety. And the current bed has a lot of repeated trees and plants. Which is fine and a great technique to use, but just not what I want. And the bed is located between two houses (mine and the neighbor's) where there is not a lot of depth in some places. So the light is already constrained because of vertical impairments. And if I get too many trees that get tall, then they will choke out what light remains and then I won't be able to grow much. So no redwoods there, BUT, I do have a coastal redwood on the property that is immense. And I just planted a Sequoia in another area. I love them, too. K4, thanks for the heads up on the lack of light being a concern for the Kasagiyama. I'm pretty sure the entire bed gets filtered light so I'm going to hope it works in that location. And it may even get morning light, just no afternoon light, yet. If need be, I'll trim back the overhanging Hemlock tree.
Hmm. My vision of the bed and reality have collided. I spent the afternoon out there wilh my drawings and stakes to represent future trees and it's just not working. 1st, I really think K4 is right about the spot by where I plant to put Peaches being too shady. Second, to put in as many trees as I have currently drawn in really intrudes into the grassy corridor next to the house. I think it will make it claustrophobic. Third, the established deciduous "backbones" are in really poor shape. The last thing I want to do is plan around trees and shrubs that will have to come out anyway. Sigh. Back to the drawing board. I must say, though, that I'm really enjoying my new program, Smart Draw. It makes it easy to plan and change my mind. Which I seem to be doing, OFTEN.
I love them. But don't they grow very very slowly? Do you have some particular favorites? I just put in a Kramer's Red? in a different area of the property. OK, I like to try and find answers so I just went to the American Camellia Society's website while I was typing this. OMG - who knew there were so many! You'all have got to check out their site: http://www.camellias-acs.com/display.aspx?catid=3,137,150. Click on a camellia and look how they have them cross referenced by color, type of bloom, season of bloom... Way cool. Imagine that done with JM's! Mind blowing. And after ruthless pruning, I've cut down the favorites to 34! LOL
This brings back memories. My wife thought I was OCD, because of the original 10 plants I put in ground, I have probably transplanted 8 of them. First I didn't mound plants well enough, next some didn't seem to like the light conditions and so on. I do actually think all of those plants are the better for it, and it is much easier to admit and correct mistakes early. I would just think of it as a fluid process: planning is good fun, but anticipate numerous tweaks and outright failures along the way and you won't be dissapointed!
Nelran, My 'Woods # 2' is starting to get some fall colors. I also threw in a couple of pics of A.j. 'Mountain Shadow', which is a rare one I picked up this summer. Enjoy!
Aratama has a beautiful spring foliage for a dwarf. If you can get a big enough Olsen's frosted strawberry, I would put it above Kasagiyama for color.
Good to know. I have an Aratama bonsai that I found. I can't wait for it to leaf out in Spring. I may try and learn how to graft so I can have more (after practicing on something easier). Olsen's FS is on my short list, good to know you prefer it to Kasagiyama for color. I was contemplating a Aka shagitatsu sawa (spelling?) for the spot in place of the Kasagiyama. What do you think? I also considered some of the ghosts. I want something to play off the shape, texture, look of Peaches and Cream. I'm just not sure. BTW, I worked in that bed (with help) today off and on from 12:00 till about 5:00pm (it got too dark to continue). And there is now, from far left to right currently in the bed... Beni shichihenge (planted this Spring), a really large Hemlock tree that will get thinned soon, a space for a tree less than 10 feet tall and not too spreading (?), a large broadleaf evergreen that someone guessed might be an Evergreen Cherry, Peaches and Cream (just a baby, but the shape is sooo cute and planted today), a few Golden Chain Trees (fewer now that I cut a few down while my husband wasn't looking), an Acer Griseum (planted this Spring), a Leland Cypress (planted today), an Italian Cypress (planted last week), a Himmalyan Paper Barked Birch (planted last month), a Pyracantha (planted today), an Ocean Spray (which may be killed off in the next few years as it is overgrown for the space and deciduous), a large classic purple Lilac (twisted into a sad shape because of years of neglect and overgrowth, I've trimmed like crazy and will do more next Spring), a Blue Heaven Juniper (planted last week), another Golden Chain Tree, a Hogyoku (planted today), an unknown large shrub (I think it may be an Arbutus type relative), a Forsythia clump, a Tsukushigata (planted today), more Forsythia, an Oshio Beni (planted today), another Golden Chain Tree (this one is really large and could actually be attractive once I give it some attention in the Spring), an Orange Dream(planted today), a Shin Deshojo (planted today), a large and sad Hemlock Tree, a Higasayama (planted last month), an Arbutus Marina (planted today), Oki Kasame (planted last week), an extremely old and large Ornamental Cherry, an Otto's Dissectum (planted last week). And spread throughout the bed there are also some boxwoods with red berries and some mystery twiggy thing that spreads underground and has yellow flowers in the Spring. It gets really tall but the shoots don't get significantly bigger at the ground. And it's deciduous, like so much else in the bed. In the rest of the yard, two large Rhody's got transplanted and the 10' Sequoia got transplanted to a better (hopefully) spot. And a little Doug Fir went in the ground, too. My back is T I R E D.
Pretty rare, K4 I have almost all books related with JMs and this is the first time that I heard (or read) about this particular cultivar. It has very nice leaves. (Hummm... I need to make more space, to add these three -6910, Woods #2, and now 'mountain shadow'. Thanks K4.
The problem with Aka shigitatsu sawa is knowing which form you are getting. I absolutely love my Aka which is close to that which is shown in Vertrees' books, but with a bit less of the rose color. In fact, my form doesn't show that very often. It usually shows pale salmon pinks to amber shades in spring which fade to the creamy white between the veins. I am not sure how close my form is to the original, but it is a beautiful tree regardless. There is also a common form that at least one major maple grower in Oregon carries that resembles beni shigitatsu sawa more than aka shigitatsu sawa (it may very well be a rename). It doesn't hold the reticulation very well compared to my Aka shigitatsu sawa, but the coloration in spring is similar to my form. Here are a couple of pics of the above two forms. The first is of the second form on May 7 (sorry it is a bit blurry but it is all I had). The second pic is of my tree on April 20 just after leaf emergence. I will also add that neither of the above two forms have shown as much pink/rose color than my Kasagiyama. I have only had Olsen's frosted strawberry for one year, but it held its color longer than the Kasagiyama (all three get almost identical water, fertilizer, and light as I keep all of my reticulates next to each other to observe their performance). I will also mention that Ariadne is a nice cultivar that deserves mention along with this group. I might put it in front of my aka shigitatsu sawa in time as I am more fond of it's fall color.
That's a great tip, thanks. Looks like an interesting cultivar. BTW, the men with the giant chipper came today so my enormous piles of deadwood have been chipped and removed. Yippee. Tomorrow I might be able to get some pictures so you all can see the project. Oh, and it's confirmed that the largest of the Golden Chain Trees is dying and leaning dangerously. It makes me sad and a little mad. Sad because while Golden Chain Trees are not my favorite tree, this one was really big and had a decent shape. A little mad because someone planted that tree many, many years ago and that space was just neglected till rot overcame the tree. A little trimming every year would have made that area healthy rather than what it is today. Two large Hawthorns are looking less than healthy as well. They each got some major trimming so hopefully next Spring they will show signs of renewed vigor. I have to say, I think minimal pruning and shaping is like having your teeth cleaned - necessary preventative maintenance.
K4, Did you get the 'Abigail Rose' from Topiary gardens? the label looks familiar. I got one from Topiary garden that is about 4 years according to the label, but is about 8 inches tall but has a number of branches. I got it last fall, and it made it thru its first TX summer with zero scorch (it is in shade though). It looks very similar to yours in terms of leaf color etc, not much of pink if any. It did show some pink in spring on the new leaves which quickly faded away. I was hoping for some thing like this http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Cultivar/US%2520National%2520Arboretum%2520May%25202006/AcerpalmatumAbigailRoseFoliageMay20.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/maple/msg0512252918619.html&usg=__kcd4otGPwTrmo-Ny-g0tbqwxhWA=&h=640&w=480&sz=119&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=9uZ-TOEg2X6x9M:&tbnh=137&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2527Abigail%2BRose%2527%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN Did your tree show any pink later in the season? xman
xman, Yes, I did get mine from Topiary. It has some pink on it when I got it, but not a lot. That faded out pretty quick in the Tennessee heat. This next spring will be my first with it, so I'm hoping it will really be amazing! The heat does sap color from some of these cultivars, it seems.
