Which japanese maple has the best variegation? And which holds the pink color until the fall: Orido Nishiki or Ashahi Zuru? What about Ukigomo--does it hold its pink/white color until fall? Thanks!
i have all of these, & have had them for @ least a decade. it is my experience that orido no nishiki has the best & longest lasting variegation. asahi zuru has less intense variegation, while ukigumo has the least intense.
I have two of the three trees. The Picture of one and two are oridono nishiki, pic three and four are ukigomo. Personally I like them both. I found that O. Nishiki gets better color with more shade. I seem to get more white and pink in the shade. My tree in full sun does get color but not as good. Ukigomo is an awesome tree. My tree does not recieve a whole lot of light. I am not get a great deal of variegation from the tree compared to other pictures I have seen. I find you can't go wrong with either tree.
Which japanese maple has the best variegation? This is a somewhat subjective question, what is best for you may not be the best for me. I do have the three and while I agree that asking for the differences between Oridono Nishiki and Asahi zuru make sense, Ukigumo is a much more delicate cultivar with a very different type of varieagation. In my garden both Oridono nishiki and Asahi zuru show strong variegation in partial shade. The main differences I have observed are that the Oridono's variegation is pinkish while the Asahi's is more reddish. The Asahi grows a little faster and is leggier than Oridono but this may be due to local conditions. Gomero
I'm a fan of Asahi Zuru, myself. The leaves sometimes fail to variegate but usually it is a chiaroscuro of green, pink and white.
Comparative discussions like this always require that everyone has correctly identified stock, something that is not necessarily the case. 'Asahi zuru' has more vigor but is less variegated. Both are apt to revert.
