Does anyone have any pictures or information on the 'Searles Varigated'? Based on it's description it seems like an awesome tree! Click here: http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=49066&PrevMainPage=advsearchresults&scChannel=Trees%20Shrubs%20AS&SearchText=p16.v227&OfferCode=RH3
That is the most printed information available about that maple that I know of. It is regionally named and not unlike many other maples of its type. The pink is quite oustanding and seems to have an orange hue similar to what is seen with Beni shichihenge. I once asked Wayside if they could tell me the parent plant that the seedling originated from and they said they could not nor could they put me in-touch with the person from whom the plant originated. I suppose it was a pretty wild request on my part. I won't say good or bad on it, but maybe someone in the eastern part of the country could tell you whether or not it is "different enough" to warrant buying when we have many established varieties with similar coloration. I would think that this one is a name more than a standout.
If it was found growing in a private garden it could perfectly well be a renaming of an existing cultivar. Wayside (link, above) doesn't say if it was a spontaneous seedling or branch sport occuring only on that property. Somebody involved in recognizing a found plant, building it up, and promoting it needs to have a comprehensive knowledge of the cultivar group it belongs to or there really isn't a reliable basis for calling it a distinct plant. I doubt this happens very often. There certainly has been alot of superfluous naming, some cultivars having long lists of names they have been sold or described under. Too bad Wayside wasn't helpful when contacted for more information, I'd think it's even in their own commercial interest to legitimize and differentiate the plant with a better description that includes all the important details of its origin, introduction and distinctive attributes (if any!). Full participation in the system would also include registering it with the appropriate International Cultivar Registration Authority. Without complete accounts of new introductions being published somewhere such plants may never become fully understood. Here's an example of a shrub at UBC that is burdoned with an undocumented name: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/p...low_and_platismatia_stenophylla_tentative.php
What it's supposed to be called shouldn't stop you from buying and enjoying one. And if it's actually a renaming of a fairly common cultivar, that just gives you more shopping options. Even if a tree that looks just like it at a local nursery actually isn't the exact same introduction, if it produces the same effect then you'll still be getting what you wanted--unless you are building a comprehensive collection. Maybe you can actually buy one under the same name elsewhere, Wayside Exclusives aren't always that.
