Very early this year, at least in France . A few pictures taken this afternoon: Acer tataricum ssp. ginnala Acer palmatum 'Little Princess' ('Mapi-no Machi hime') Acer palmatum 'Katsura' Acer elegantulum
Huh?...what?...already?...dear me...must've been in hibernation too long ha Know what you mean,it is a bit worrying but also a cheery sight at this bleak time of year...nice to see those pics :)
Nothing quite so far advanced here, but if we keep having warm days (60-70F daytime high for most of this past week), it won't be long. About 5 years ago, we were really early too; my first maple to leaf out (Wilson's Pink Dwarf) was in mid-February.
Wow, what a sign of Spring is coming in France. It is not until mid April before we can see the buds begin to break here in northern Virginia. So please keep sharing these photos, thanks.
Not quite so far along here, but I have a feeling things will be early for me too. Some maples are quite far along, others look normal for this time of year, so we'll see...
The peep show has started :) First out of the gate is Mimaye, with Ueno yama and Wild Fire not far behind. Jade Dragon, Matthew and a few others are also in the running. Some of my seedlings from Shinju and Seiryu are also starting to unfurl. Going to have a few nights flirting with freezing temps or just under, so I've moved the furthest along into the garage - don't need those tender leaves freezing!
Congratulations, Andrea!! I figured that the move to Alabama would agree with you :-) It looks like we're going to have an early spring this year due to El Niño. Saw my first robin last Friday!! While nothing in the maple department is even close to waking up, several of my rose bushes are definitely starting to swell. Looking forward to more of your spring pics! Kevin in KC
After unusual temperatures in early February, even 8°C up to 18°C the same day we had some frost again, so leafing out has slowed down. Compare the Acer tataricum in the first post (Feb. 6th) to the photo I've just taken today: Apparently, it didn't suffer too much from temperatures ranging from -1°/-4° at night to 8°/12° in the afternoon. They forecast a few more days below zero, but it shouldn't go below -2°. Other photos taken today: A. p. 'Jerre Schwartz' A. p. 'Little Princess' A. p. 'Katsura' (always the earliest of all the ones I have) Acer elegantulum For most the others, the buds are still dormant (Garnet, Dissectum, plain species) or just beginning to swell.
All my trees are in full color just lost half a Shaina that was burnt badly in the summer. Im a newbie at this so I still am surprised and excited when they all make it. Also my first attempt at stratification and growing seedlings seems to be coming along nicely(knock on wood).
A few of the earlies leafing out, one or two have been in leaf for a few weeks now. Beni-shidare Tricolor, Muraski Kiyohime, Kashima, Karasugawa
Well, with the exception of one habitual late-bloomer, and a recent arrival from my favorite 'dealer' in NY, everything is in full swing here, and very early - brought on, no doubt, by the 3-4 days spent in a heated cargo van and then an insulated garage after our move mid-January, plus the exceptionally warm Feb. Many of my trees have flowers this year, some only a few, others loaded; guess I'll be buying some seed trays this fall :) And speaking of seeds, I only lost 4, possibly 5 (verdict is out on the 5th one), of my seedlings this winter out of nearly 40. An interesting observation: My beloved Murakumo is not nearly so pale this year. Last year it was in the ground and under a large pin oak, so even in early spring, it still received very little direct sun. I dug it up in late fall and potted it; our back yard here (where the majority of the maples are) faces due east on the side of the mountain, so we get loads of sun until midday. While still very beautiful, the color is definitely more saturated and richer this spring. I'm hoping to get some grafts of this tree (sent the scion off last summer) this year or next, and will definitely be playing around with light exposure and comparing the results.
Took photos of a Seyriu this afternoon: lots of flowers, but on the second photo I spotted unwanted guests I hadn't noticed when I was outside... And the A. elegantulum have very delicate colours.
Good God, aphids already! Much further ahead at your place Alain, the only palmatum out here (Eddisbury) arrived in full leaf! Not far off though. The "very earlies" like mandshuricum and pensylvanicum are out as well as most of the ginalla. Not to mention many caudatifolium which never lost all their leaves; I hope yours is still alive? Quite a few died but I just moved the 3 largest into 3l pots as they're starting to leaf out more fully. The elegantum leaves are very beautiful in your picture, not very deeply dissected which I love. I notice the one you gave me has lovely green bark, unlike my other specimens. Hope it has leaves like in your photo too, it's just thinking about opening.
Hi Emery, Yes, all those you sent me are still alive. The A. tataricum ssp ginnala has long leafed out. Its growth slowed down when the weather went back to cold, but it's pushing new leaves now. The others are in various stages of developement. As for the A. elegantulum, I think the leaves will get more dissected when they mature. Photos: - Acer campbellii ssp. sinense - Acer davidii - Acer tataricum ssp ginnala - Acer caudatifolium (new shoots) - Acer cappadocicum aureum
There aren't very many, but yes, it's the first time I've seen some so early. So I went to the local pharmacy and bought 70° alcohol: a couple of years ago, on a bonsai forum, a member who is an "ingénieur agronome" (agronomist?) gave us this recipe: - Mix a table spoon of ground cinnamon with 50 cl of 70° alcohol - Allow to stand overnight, stir from time to time if you have insomnia - Filter, then spray I haven't tried it yet, but since the attack seems to be limited, I'll give it a go. If "organic" solutions can work, why add to pollution?
AlainK, if you try this cinnamon/alcohol mixture, let me know what results you have, and how the maples (and other plants, if you use it on them) tolerate it. Was it supposed to be for aphids only, or other insects as well? I too found some aphids on one of my maples the other day; I had brought many of the very small ones and the newer ones that were just starting to leaf out indoors for a 2 night cold snap. When I was taking them out, I noticed the aphids on the one tree. Sprayed them off with the hose, and haven't seen them since - or on other trees that were beside it indoors - but it's always good to have options, especially natural ones.
Glad to hear it, I've had a lot of losses in the caudatifoliums, they seem to vary in hardiness. And thanks for the pics. Many of the tataricum ssp ginalla started leafing out here in the beginning of Feb, then got badly burnt and are coming back now. Luckily they are indestructible especially once established. All of the ones you sent me are alive too, with the possible exception of the sequoia. It's looking pretty miserable, although there are some new buds I think. BTW, if the cappidocicum is from me, I don't think I gave you an Aureum, just a regular one. There's a small possibility it's ssp sinicum though. I rooted some Aureums a few years ago, but I don't think I had any left. I want to know if the cinnamon works, too! Aphids are a real problem here, and the garden is too big to blast them with a hose, which will damage young growth also. cheers, -E
The wind finally died down today, giving me a chance to snap a few pics of trees leafing out. We had several days of 70 degrees early this week, followed by bitterly chilly and wet with temps around 30 the past few nights. More rain and snow showers are on tap for Easter morning........ :-( Luckily, temps should remain above freezing. Fresh leaves from the following trees this round: Koto No Ito Momoiro koyasan Emmitt's Pumpkin Korean maple Katsura Kurabu yama Ed Woods #2 Orange Dream Radiant Happy Easter to all! Kevin in KC
I'd hold your breath a little longer Kevin, looks like there will be another arctic blast coming through this coming weekend... I'm hoping here we'll be just far enough south to avoid the worst of it.
Between hailstorms from "Katie" (who did a little damage, sadly, and the hail wont have helped either) I snapped a few early pics: A. mandshuricum, A. pensylvaticum, pensylvaticum flower, A. olivarianum ssp formosanum (A. serrulatum) and A. palmatum 'Eddisbury'. Everything is right on the verge, but hopefully can stay furled up until the winds and hail are past.
1/ I'm not sure about the cinnamon/alcohol mixture: I sprayed a couple of trees, apparently the aphids are still there, I'm not sure they're dead. There was a short shower of rain 3 hrs after I sprayed them, but it's hard to draw conclusions. Anyway, it's difficult to filter the mixture, so I'm not that sure it's worth bothering. Good point: the trees don't seem to have suffered from the treatment. 2/ I'm not sure what cultivar this grafted maple is (some said 'Crispifolium'), but you really have to have a close look to notice the flowers (notice that the second photo is a true "thumbnail", hu hu...).
