I have a 12-year old Acer palmatum "Viridis" that for the first time ever, is displaying variegations in some of its leaves and would be curious if any other Japanese maple enthusiasts have ever had this phenomenon take place.
If it were variegation, I would have thought the variegation would have been more evenly dispersed among all the branches and the whole tree not just on that one side.
Those leaves might even be bleached by the sun? It is the time of year where the sun is hitting leaves that in the spring were shaded by walls and buildings. Unlikely, but a possibility?
Thank you all for your suggestions as to bleaching, mildew and excessive sunlight. I don't believe that any of these is a factor and that is why I posed the question. Where I live (Dublin, CA) we have been experiencing very, very cool spring days; most unusual for this time of the year, and lots of rain to boot. In previous years with even more sunlight, this tree has never shown bleaching or signs of variegation. To Katsura - If you look at the larger photo, you will note that several branches are variegated and not just one branch. To maf - definitely not bleaching. Tree receives morning sun and afternoon shade. To AlainK - Chlorosis may be the answer. But then why not the whole tree? BTW, I have over 90+ acer palmatum cultivars in my Japanese maple collection, most of them in pots. And again, my thanks to you all for your responses. Gerry
Gerry, I don't think it looks like "normal" variegation, which is why you have received such bizarre suggestions as to the cause. Everyone seems as much in the dark as yourself on this one. I can suggest no more than to observe these branches in the future, but I am sure you know to do that already. I hope it turns out you have something interesting there.
I don't know, that was just a suggestion. I read things like : when depleted of essential elements or imbalanced, soil and plant can't interact properly, the plant can't take whatever amount of fertilizer you feed it. So, maybe, the weaker the plant, the more risks there are for the tree to develop diseases, such as fungal - or even viral, attacks on young shoots. For lack of definite answer, I'm trying rational thinking ;°)
To AlainK, I think I'll give it a shot of liquid iron and see if that helps. As I mentioned earlier, this has been an abnormally wet spring so chlorosis may be the cause. Again, thanks for the suggestion! Gerry
what about fertilize?i ask this because i see this inusual variegation in by jm Bihoo ,and in one Callicarpa giraldii this year jm Mai mori, revert ,reteurn with 4 leaves variegated,and in Italy this spring is more wet ...
Great idea! Root stocks I have plenty so now I will have to wait until late winter for plant dormancy and a healthy scion. Thanks for the tip! Gerry
