I am familiar with Acer palmatum 'Ara kawa', A.p. 'Ibo nishiki' , and A.p. 'Nishiki gawa' as the Japanese maples with rough, corky bark. Are there any others? I have a small, 2'x4' speciman that has rough bark and very small, palmate leaves but size wise, it doesn't match up to the three I mentioned.
'Issai nishiki' or sometimes known as 'Issai nishiki momiji' springs to mind. It has very rough bark that is said to start at a younger age than the other rough bark maples and also said to be more dwarf than the others. The ones I have seen do not have very small leaves however, they are more like normal size palmatum leaves. It is also prone to die back partially or fully.
Thanks so much for the reply. I compared a picture I have of my unknown rough bark dwarf to one of Acer palmatum 'Issai nishiki momiji' and it was a dead ringer of a match. No question, the leaves were the same. And the plant dimensions similar. I also stumbled upon a website where someone was claiming that this cultivar is the same as 'Nishiki gawa'. But to my knowledge, A.p. 'Nishiki gawa grows into a medium sized tree, not the 2'x4' tree I have so far. And to complicate matters, A.p. 'Issai nishiki momiji' may also be called, 'Issai nishiki kawazu', at least by Esveld. Thanks again.
Glad to be of help, that is what this forum is about. I had never heard of the '...kawazu' variant name but I see from a search that it is quite widespread now. Maybe it is a selected form of 'Issai nishiki'. Either way take care of your maple, these are said to be difficult to propogate and somewhat tender. Please post a picture if you have time, I would love to see it... Edited to add: I agree 100% that 'Nishiki gawa' is a different tree entirely.
I didn't take a great shot showing the overall profile of the tree. It's basically somewhat flat-topped, spreading upright. Small,palmate leaves. Age unknown and dimensions roughly 3'x4'.
I have never heard of these two cultivars so thanks for that. I still think the one I have is likely 'Issai nishiki'. The size of the tree and the leaf shape are spot on. But I will have to monitor the fall and spring leaf colour before making the final judgement call.
I had the good fortune of purchasing a house where the previous homeowner was a lover of Japanese gardens and Japanese maples. So, there are several unique, trees (other than Japanese maples) on the property as well as, at least 12 different JM varieties. So, I "inherited" a beautiful built garden with several Japanese maple varieties. I am still trying to figure out at least two other varieties.
According to Bill Valavanis, who is a bonsai master and maple expert, Issai Nishiki is synonymous with the cultivar Nishiki Gawa. source: Pine bark maple Perhaps he is comparing the bark formation specifically Because it seems that Nishiki Gawa is more vigorous, not a dwarf, and fairly common in cultivation. Does anyone know where to source the "Issai Nishiki" in the OP with the small leaves and dwarf form, in the US?
I think the answer to this is easier if you're looking for named cultivars. But those cultivars do not neatly match up to reality where there are seemingly innumerable rough bark 'varieties'. One thing I have noticed is that the term arakawa does not show up as at name of a cultivar in the Kokofu albums (and in other Japanese texts), even where 'Seigen', 'Beni Chidori', 'Deshojo', 'Kashima', 'Kiyo Hime', and 'Chishima' do. Rather, the term arakawa is instead used merely as an adjective to describe the visually rough bark. Some pre-bonsai nurseries in Japan definitely use 'Arakawa' as the name of a cultivar nowadays, but those trees can vary greatly in bark texture, and also in leaf shape and color. I know of at least 2 nurseries in Japan that grow their arakawa from seed (yes, not cutting, air layer or graft, but seed), and so despite rough bark being a common feature (one hopes), we can expect variation with respect to other features. It's normal for descriptive names to become the cultivar name, but I don't when or where the transition was initiated, and it still does not seem to have been adopted everywhere. I wonder if anybody here could tell us more about the history of arakawa maples and their migration out of Japan?
I had completely missed the section in Vertrees book which describes 'Issai nishiki momiji', perhaps because it was a short description and without a photograph, but it's there. Glad that mystery is solved.
Hi D., Kokufu is the bonsaï show in Japan for those who might ask. Actually I've always thought that the rough bark maple bonsai were not simply 'Arakawa', but other cultivars of the same kind, and : I think you're right.
In « BOOK FOR MAPLES » by Masayoshi Yano, 2003, printed in Japan. P 91, we found: Acer palmatum ‘Arakawa momiji’ (1969) . Record: KK. --------- (Koyabashi possible) Acer matsumurae ‘Arakawa ukon’ (1984) . A: M. Yano. --------- (A = author) Yano note synonyms of ‘Arakawa momiji’ : ‘Nishiki momiji’ (1967) ‘Iibo nishiki (1992)
In « MAPLES OF THE WORLD » by D. M. van Gelderen and all ... 1994. ed: Timber Press. P 268, GROUP I: PALMATUM. Cultivars. Group 1a: green leaves etc. ‘Arakawa’ ------------ (we found it in this group). P 273. ‘Arakawa’. Koyabashi. (1970). Japan. JDV I, 127; JVD II, 135, photo. (Then a description). (And then a remark). In JDV II this cultivar still bears the name A. palmatum ‘rough bark maple’. This is inconsistent with the rules of synonymy and not elsewhere used, we accept ‘Arakawa’ as the only valid cultivar epithet. Rare in cultivation and only occasionaly available in the trade. Zone VI. (written in 1993/94 by van Gelderen) (I got mine in 2000 in a little country nursery...je souligne)
I know this thread is a bit old, and maybe you are long past caring to continue the discussion, but I did have a couple of thoughts. And I also have a more comprehensive list of cultivars known to produce rough textured bark. First off, In your photo I don't see a graft union. It would be very obvious if this is in fact a grafted cultivar with rough bark, but that may be buried in the mulch if it's there. I suppose it's also possible that it was grown from a cutting, but I'm not aware of many that are dwarf maples with rough bark. Issai nishiki is known to produce extremely rough bark very quickly. So much in fact that it generally blows out the graft and fails. Most nurseries don't even produce it any more. I think growing from cutting would be the only way to successfully produce this cultivar for longevity. Arakawa (as it's sold in the west) Arakawa seedlings (or simply rough bark seedlings, many of these likely end up sold as 'Arakawa') Alan's Gold Harold's Pinebark Hubble's Super Cork Ibo nishiki Ibo juhi (This is a very small dwarf) Issai nishiki Japanese Princess Nishiki gawa Nishiki sho (some claim this is synonymous with Arakawa, while others claim there is a difference in form) Nishiki yamato I also recently heard of a small leaf variety from Topiary Gardens, possibly called "Johnnies Seedling", but their site is down for maintenance and I can't verify that right now.
Hi Dan, I have 'Japanese Princess' in the Palmatum Group, not the Pinebark Group. Have you got an example, perhaps? TIA
Hi Emery, mine is still very small so I haven't seen it in person yet. I think the bark is very slow to form. But I have seen a few very old specimens sell with corked bark (Maplestone Ornamentals sold a beautiful specimen last year), and Matt and Tim have mentioned it a few times in their publications. They may be able to provide more info, or even some photo's. Here's one shot on Facebook, and a video where Matt briefly mentions that they get corky bark with age. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15tcMvE4ha/
