First of all hi from a new member :) A couple of days ago, I ordered my very first JM from Maillot Erable and I think I may have rushed it a little... I had done a fair bit of research beforehand and had a few varieties in mind that I thought could do alright in our garden. Obviously none of them were available so out of the many varieties unknown to me, I picked an Acer Palmatum 'Mufuri' (because I liked the photo and very limited description) only to discover that there is basically no information available on this variety. So far, I have only managed to find out that its mature height is between 2 and 4 meters and that it is "a large shrub with 7-lobed purple leaves, deeply divided almost up to the base". We live in Sicily, geographically within the European Hardiness zone 10 (with average annual minimum temperature of 30-40 F), but this is not accurate for our location since we are approximately 800 m above sea level on a mountain slope and temperatures are generally 40 F below of the "real" zone 10 temperatures and in fact we have succesfully planted a few different birch varieties and many other plants that are heat-sensitive. I have already picked a spot for the Mufuri well protected from wind (cold as well as hot southernly winds we get sometimes) in dappled shade which I believe would be appropriate for most Acer Palmatums in this kind of location. Only problem being that I really don't know that much about this variety even after a thorough research... so any info even irrelevant would be very much appreciated :) Thanks for reading and sorry for the long & boring post. Jo
Have you tried an e mail to Maillot? They might be able to help with some info .... I am having exactly the same problem with a Kuro kami yama bought from Esvelds Unfortunately they have yet to reply to me :(
Hi Sam and thanks for the quick reply :) I haven't emailed Maillot so far, waiting for the tree to arrive since I THINK they mentioned on the website trees will arrive with a care sheet (can't check atm because the site is not working). Btw, I would just like to mention that I really love your website :) I must have spent some hours browsing it when trying to decide which variety to get (as I said before though the actual order did not exactly go to plan :)). Good luck with your Kuro kami yama! Jo
Sounds like you live in a beautiful spot. It would be great to see a photo once your new tree is in place.
Thanks Jo for your kind words Esvelds have just told me that they got Kuro kami yama from Maillot :) So I guess we will both be e mailing them .........
I'd say you took some risks ordering unknown cultivars that nobody has heard about. My advice for newcomers is to stick to well proven cultivars, if some new selections are good, you are sure to have heard about (Shirazz, Hana Matoi,.....). I've tried some of those 'unknown' cultivars from Japan and I am mostly disappointed, many seedlings growing in my garden look prettier. Also, how long will it take from Lyon to Sicily?, it is kind of hot and the maples a
I'd say you took some risks ordering unknown cultivars that nobody has heard about. My advice for newcomers is to stick to well proven cultivars, if some new selections are good, you are sure to have heard about them (Shirazz, Hana Matoi,.....). I've tried some of those 'unknown' cultivars from Japan and I am mostly disappointed, many seedlings growing in my garden look prettier. Also, how long will it take from Lyon to Sicily?, it is kind of hot and the maples have now been fully leafed for a while. I would be very curious to learn how your maple arrived and if it survived. Good luck. Gomero
Gomero, I know I'm taking a huge risk firstly by ordering a "mystery" maple and secondly by ordering it from so far away... and obviously with my usual luck the weather is not doing any favors either. Unfortunately living in Sicily it was the only plausible option available. You can't get japanese maples from local nurseries unless you order a single tree and transport will end up costing at least three times the value of the tree (and it will take a few months to get it), I have yet to find a nursery in other parts of Italy that ship to private customers (unless, once again, you pay them hundreds of euros to do that). It is not just plants but whenever I need to buy basically anything, I find it much easier and cheaper to order things abroad (last purchase being dog name tags)... even delivery charges from UK/France are generally cheaper than from Italy and things arrive quicker. Go figure. In any case in our situation I feel that it is worth to "risk" 60 euros rather than spend hundreds for a tree that in any case we won't be able to see and pick out ourselves. What comes to the variety, I did have the best of intentions :) but as we all know that rarely works out :) In the end I just went with my gut feeling (that may not always be right lol) and in any case however it goes this won't be our last maple so plenty of occasions to get the "right" varieties later on. I'll definately let you all know how things turn out hopefully with some pics of a live tree :D whis4ey, the Maillot acer site is still down so your best bet is to find an email address from their bonsai site and please do let me know if and when they reply. Jo
For some reason I thought Maillot was in the Pas de Calais... Luluet, I'm afraid your care sheet will only contain a few generalizations intended for Japanese Maples. Not commenting on Maillot one way or another, but there are many UK/NL places that will send by post. At that point I think the distance question is moot. -E
Hi Jo, Welcome to the forum (I forgot in my previous message :D ). I understand the difficulties you have procuring locally. I could provide you (by private messaging) with the coordinates of another supplier (in France) which has just 30-40 of the better known palmatum cultivars in its catalog, but they are good sized specimens, grown in the ground at very good prices. Of course they ship only during the dormant season. And, please, keep us informed on the follow up of your 'Mufuri' order. Gomero
Hi again everyone. Emery, obviously I did not intend to say that Maillot was the only option I had, but that I could not buy/order maples any closer. Initially I contacted a few nurseries in France/UK that seemed reliable but didn't offer an "easy" internet order option for those of us in other countries (and did not even list delivery costs out of the country) and seemed difficult to contact (out of 8 or so nurseries contacted a couple of weeks ago I'm still awaiting 4 replies). So I decided to go with Maillot and keep my fingers crossed :). Gomero, thanks for the welcome, and please do send me the other french supplier's contact details. Also if you know of any good nurseries for JMs around Dijon/Auxerre/Torcy I'd be a happy girl (planning a trip to Disneyland soonish). Jo
A bit of an update, Mufuri arrived yesterday (sent on 26/05), very pretty little tree, seems to be in an excellent condition, one little branch with 2 leaves had broken off and while unpacking it other 2 fell off (our fault since they weren't dry at all), apart from this it is perfect :). I had already panicked and emailed Maillot but was reassured within 20 minutes (apparently by Mr Maillot himself) that the tree would be ok even after 10 + days from dispatch, and was told if it wouldn't arrive within the next few days I was to contact them immediately. Overall I'm pretty happy :) now just hoping it will adjust well to the new environment... planted it already - even though we had planned to keep it in the pot until fall, but we should be having a patch of cooler weather so decided to go for it. Also I really wanted to plant it next to our little pond but in the end decided to go with the safer option and plant it in an area on the other side of the house, where we already have a camelia, gardenia, rhododendron and some azaleas that are doing very well (some of them on their second year and some planted this year) and therefore we're hoping the Mufuri will like the spot as well. Pics to follow soon :) Jo
Pics added to gallery :) Mufuri has now been joined by a Butterfly :) visited my favourite nursery yesterday and, tucked in a corner, noticed a strangely familiar looking plant that on a closer inspection turned out to be an AP 'Butterfly'. Not in the greatest of conditions (to be expected because the nursery in question is in a very hot and sunny spot close to shore) but a nice shape and size (at least twice the size of the Mufuri) and managed to get a discount too... probably because nobody was quite sure of how the maple actually ended up there. First time I've ever seen one for sale locally.
