So I picked up a Cercidiphyllum japonicum last Fall at a nursery, to be a focal point tree for the front of our house. At the time it had these amazing colors, which are showing up again this Fall. I assumed it would have green leaves the rest of the year, as most katsuras do, but it doesn't. They are sort of this darkish green and red...not the most attractive. We have a red Japanese Maple next to it, so now it's just too much red year-round. My question is, have you ever seen a japonica Katsura like this? Why would this one have such different coloring? Also, I'm disappointed it doesn't have the usual katsura scent that I love so much. I thought getting a particular variety of katsura would mean certain colors, certain scent, certain attributes. Note: In the pics, the red katsura with the curled leaves is ours. The yellow one is two doors down, which looks like all the other katsuras I see around.
Yeah, that was my first thought. I guess it's possible, but when looking at online photos of that variety, I dismissed that idea pretty quickly. The Red Fox variety seems to have a dominant purple color and this tree is never overall purple. But maybe many of the online pics were selected to capture the deepest color possible. Are there any Red Fox experts on here? I could take more pics if that would help someone identify. If it is a Red Fox, I want my money back from the nursery :)
The way I see it if yours is a red fall color variant so much the better. You can cool the two reddish trees near one another by adding shrubs and perennials with bluish leaves. 'Rotfuchs' was raised by Karl Fuchs in Germany, so presumably the translation into English "Red Fox" is improper.
