They are actually Peony frames come in packs of six from any garden centre B&Q etc, which i then cut down to various sizes using a good hack saw, and then using a vice just make a small hook on the end. Great for pegging the pots down and nothing will blow them over, they stay relatively rust free due to the plastic coating.
@Alain, yes it is typically a much warmer sun you have, although really only about 100km difference. That's why you can make great wine, whereas we can make, uh, something that some people might call "wine." Also at Les Souffrettes we are almost the highest point in Normandie at 337m, which has an effect. Here are 3 that are a bit more along: A. pseudoplatanus 'Corstorphinense', always very eye-catching this time of year, the pretty rubenscens 'Summer Snow' and A. mandshuricum, now fully out.
Next batch 1,2,3 Chitoseyama 4,5,6 Coonara Pygmy 7,8,9 Crippsii 10,11,12 Dissectum 13,14,15 Hana Matoi
for another pics : http://politicacerierockroll.blogspot.it/2015/04/maples-spring-2015-part-one.html or :https://youtu.be/oaycY7Rf9PE
3rd Batch 1,2 Lionheart 3,4,5 Pink Blush 6,7,8 Toyama Nishiki 9,10,11 Emma 12,13 Ever Red, not yet leafed out 14,15 Hessei 16,17,18 Higasayama 19,20,21 Jerre Schwartz 22,23,24 Kamagata 25,26,27 Katsura 28,29 Kotohime
1,2,3 Koto No Ito 4,5,6 Little Princess 7,8,9 Lutescens 10,11,12 Matsukaze 13,14,15 Mikawa Yatsubus 16,17,18 Milligan 19,20 Murasaki Kyohime 21,22,23 O'kagami 24,25,26 Palmatifidium 27,28,29 Pixie 30,31,32 Ryoku Ryu
1,2,3 Sagara Nishiki 4,5,6 Gloria 7,8 Shishigashira 9,10,11 Tamukeyama 12,13,14 Villa Tarranto 15,16,17 Wendy 18,19,20 Wilsons Pink Dwarfe 21,22,23 Yasmin
It becomes addictive, where do you stop. There's always room for one more, well not according to my wife, but I always manage to make room.
Alex, first and second pictures - which cultivars? Very pretty! Haha, isn't that the truth! Hubby says the same thing to me :)
She sees me looking and I wait for "where are you going to put that". Sometimes you've just gotta have another Japanese maple, you see it and it has to some how make it into your collection. Some cultivars I have 2 or 3 the same, maybe you have one, but see another and its a cultivar you really like, but has a better shape or size. Mind you, anyone who comes round in Spring admires the colours.
I like Pevè multicolor and Como. Thats the beauty of posting pics on the forum, its a great way to research new cultivars. John
More pics, most are now in leaf, there's a few that still need to leaf out. 1,2,3 Acontifolium 4,5,6 Aobo Jo 7,8 Aoyagi 9,10,11 Ariadne 12,13,14 Aureum 15,16,17 Autumn Glory. Aphids present here, zapped yesterday with insecticide.
John..Very nice selection of trees there will look good come the summer and fall,and i agree 'there's always room for one more' or in my case yesterday three!! Amber ghost,First ghost and a Olsen's frosted only young grafts so they don't take up any room what so ever and that's my excuse. Still way behind you at the moment lovely day yesterday,but come night time the temp plumeted actually went out at 9.30 pm sat evening and moved a good dozen little guys into the workshop it was so cold,even today a bitter cold wind all day. Also had one tree myself with signs of aphids like wise misted over with warm water fairy liquid and tartaric acid,seems to kill the little suckers nicely:)
Lots of aphids here, and also have picked off the first several green caterpillars (tiny but doing plenty of damage already) from the seedlings. In particular a very bad infestation on an A. campbelli ssp wilsonii, already a difficult tree, that has had me blasting with the water bottle and cleaning with a toothpick yesterday and again today. @John, what product are you using that doesn't harm the young growth? @Roebuk, is there anything special about Fairy liquid (a classic of course) or will any dishsoap do, do you know? I haven't heard of adding tartaric acid, how is that even purchaced? Have only seen the big sacks hidden behind the wineries in the south of France... :)
Most of mine are out, just a few lagging behind. I have a lot more pics of other cultivars now leafed out to post, hopefully get round to it tomorrow. I used to use pravado bug killer but there were so many aphids around I bought the bayer greenfly killer concentrate. There does not appear to be any ill effect with the new growth, Emery have you had Robles before? Roebuk, are your grafts from Hippopottering? Has anyone here brought from Karan Junker mail order? She has a massive range of cultivars.
Emery..Was told about using this method years ago and it does seem to work on the aphids especially well, just as you start to see them massing on the new buds before they unfurl then give them a good misting usually do mine at night before it gets dark. I suppose any liquid soap would do i only use F/L because thats what we have under the sink, and for the tartaric acid again lemon or lime juice is just as good,but the tartaric acid has more of a bite!! Use this in the confectionery/bakery trade so i can get my hands on this easily, tend to use this mainly in sugar boiling. Give it a try works for me,the little suckers caught me out last year, took my eye off a few of the trees and they some became infested due to the warm winter we had last year, so this year i am checking daily and any signs are soon treated. Loved the pics of your trees the other day especially the large Mirte one of my favs. Mark
John..Yes Hippopottering had there anual spring open day yesterday,so popped along to have a good look only an hours drive away,excellent selection of young grafts on offer. Karan Junker has a good very large selection ,but not always avaiable have tried to get various plants over the years just drop her an email see what she has.
BLIMEY! come back a few hours later....100's of pics...lovely.....keep em'comin:) Quite a collection you've got there John...yes I think you're a junkie now ha.I reckon everyone here will have to start a re-hab club soon..maples anonymous :)Couldn't help noticing your 'Gloria'...mine always seems to open almost black red and stays that way,would prefer the usual red spring show though. Roebuk,thanks for the idea,can't find 'peony frames' as such but can look around at various plant supports,find what's best for me.See you've been down your 2nd home again(Hippos)ha ha...wonder if you're as surprised as I was when Amber Ghost leafs out :) cheers.
Well I'm suspicious of some of the Bayer products, I've had quite a bit of burning from them. Not to mention that I have to stay bee-friendly on anything with any flowers, so I guess I'll try adding some washing up liquid on tomorrow's patrol. Unfortunately the garden is just too large to find and manually pick off these early infestations, though I do find that as the year progresses the natural predators catch up a little. Hippo is very good, I wonder if Dick van der Maat is still providing scions and doing grafting for them as he was a couple of year ago, if so very clean plants. I've dealt with Karan Junker and it has been a little mixed, but she does deservedly have a good reputation. I know she moved a couple of years ago so there may now be better availability of some stuff...
S'funny Emery,I've never had problems with Bayer stuff,even on new grafts when just emerging..still.Provado is available as concentrate now but probably uneconomical on a garden your size.....and I understand what your saying about flowers as most of these insecticides are systemic now and will continue killing for a while.I wonder if peroxide would work,I know you already have it.It can be used as a fungicde at 20ml/gallon apparently,might shift the little blighters :)
The ideal would be a non-polluting organic treatment. I must admit that I haven't found the paznacea yet, but copper sulfate and peroxide seem very efficient against fungal diseases...
