I have a young trompenburg maple that I would like to pair with another maple. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which cultivar would complement the crimson of the trompenburg?
Seiryu might also be a nice tree to pair it with. The dissected green leaves contrast nicely with the solid red of the Trompenburg. You can get an idea of what it would like like in this thread, but there's a Bloodgood instead of a Trompenburg.
Actually Seiryu is a very good suggestion. I have a Trompenburg growing close to a Seiryu and the contrast in colour and leaf shape is most pleasing. They also show a similar level of vigour which could be helpful.
Very good suggestions. I was originally thinking about Oshio beni or Orange Dream. I think the Seiryu would look fantastic because of the leaf shape and general stature of the tree. But I understand that the Seiryu does not maintain its orange-red fall color for very long. Is this true?
My Seiryu holds autumn colour as long as any of my other trees. I have never heard that it was otherwise. Where did you hear that?
I was told this by a local "expert." By the way, your Seiryu is beautiful. The space I have is full sun, and exposed however. Is Seiryu a good choice under these conditions? Do you know of any other comparable red/orange upright maples that will pair well?
I have no experience of what 'full sun' means in Stockton so would not be qualified to advise. It is certainly fine in 'full sun' over here, and you will see that my own tree is fairly protected from winds Seiryu has the benefit of a beautiful lacey leaf which adds to the benefit of the beautiful shades of orange et al which it can produce in autumn I also like the springtime colour added by 'Shin deshojo' I have paired Katsura, Kamagata and Omurayama to what I think will be good effect. I have also added Ukigumo as a fourth plant, but it is still too small to be able to get an idea of the effect just yet. The main effect for these plants is a springtime one though My own Trompenburg sits on its own beside a Japanese Cryptomeria 'Spiralis'
I like Trompenburg when it is the focal point of the planting or the tallest tree in the grouping of plants. You plant this tree so that it can be recognized for the distinct leaf architecture and you want to draw someone close enough so that they take notice. In most cases Trompenburg will grow to be a pretty fair sized maple to 15ft in 10 years if not more. Its shape can vary by branch structure but it will be vase-shaped and nearly that wide. If you were to plant it with Seiryu you would have two similarly shaped trees and I think the Seriyu would overshadow the Trompenburg. I would look for staggered height and plant with low to medium height maple to 6ft but more wide, a dissectum or yastsubusa type dwarf to semi-dwarf. We used to have our Trompenburg fronted by a green dissectum and I really liked the look. Actually your original idea of Oshio beni and maybe a third low grower like Kioyhime, and green dissectum or Kamagata. Just give the two big red trees room to grow. Orange dream is too yellow and the leaf shape is not right. Actually, if you could get a hold of one, try Ruby Ridge. Tall and narrow with interesting leaves and orange-red in the fall.
For reference here is a picture of a group of container grown trees including Trompenburg, Seiryu and Orange Dream. The Orange Dream doesn't really work by itself with Trompenburg, but it's not too bad as part of a group containing other shapes and colours. (I will have to move it though, to get the best out of it) I feel that Trompenburg pairs best with a maple of contrasting colour and equally bold, but different, leaf shape, like the previously mentioned Seiryu or maybe something like this:
