I'm thinking of purchasing a Baldsmith to plant in front of our house. I live in zone 5a and the house faces north. I guess my questions are can the plant survive and do well and will it have the color that I would expect since it will not get much full sun? The one that I'm looking at is about 5' tall and more upright than the usual mounding shape and is very pretty. It is/was mis-marked at the nursey as a Crimson Queen but it is no more a Queen than I can fly. The nursey owner an I have been freinds for 40 + years and he agrees that it was mis-marked from the supplier. As a point of reference I have a very nice Aureum planted near the spot that I want to plant this tree and it seems to be doing well. It has been in the ground for 6 years and is nearly 7' tall. It loses a twig here and there every year but more than makes up for it in new growth. I would be very grateful for any advice as to whether this is a wise choice.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/77181/ Dave`s page is showing it hardy only to USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F).
Other sources say it is hardy to -20°F, zone 5, e.g. Buchholz. I believe at least one forum member from zone 5 grows it, with any luck they will notice this thread and share their observations of its hardiness.
I live in st. louis, not too much further south, but I imagine your winter temps get a fair amount colder/longer. With that said, baldsmith has been very hardy for me: no winter dieback (and I do get plenty of dieback on other varieties). Excellent summer tolerance as well. Mine has been in ground for around three years, in mostly filtered sunlight with some direct early evening sun. Excellent colors all year round. I have posted some pics in the palmatum photo gallery: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=2370&highlight=baldsmith
Hi, I am about 45 mins. south of you and am growing quite a few Japanese maples. It depends on if you're a gambler or not. If you try it, I would wrap it with floating row cover or burlap for a few years. Frank Byles always said that it wasn't the cold so much as the drying winter winds that kill maples in our zone. If it's in an exposed location, that could be a problem. If you're not a gambler, how about a japonicum? There are some absolutely gorgeous ones available and they are supposed to be much hardier (and have proven so for me). Take a drive to Springfield, IL to Davidsan's Maples and pick out a nice one or you could contact him to see if he has been growing one in his yard. He's a little farther north than St. Louis. Kay
Many thanks to all who replied! I had a nice response all typed in a couple of hours ago and then my computer decided to call time-out. Anyway I'm back and I did purchase and plant the new child in a nice protected spot that I believe it will like. I realize that this is somewhat of a gamble but that's what life is. As I mentioned before I believe that this tree was mis-marked from the supplier as a Crimson Queen but I really believe that it is a Baldsmith as does my nursery owner friend that I bought this tree from. He is a large supplier of JM's our area and sells several hundred of them each year. Kay, I've talked with David a couple of times and am planning on a road trip in the near future to add a few more JM's to my family. I've attached two pictures of the Baldsmith that I took this morning. It was/is another cloudy damp day in Illinois so the color does not show well. Doug Mann (aka customfox)
