I have a small Acer palmatum that I bought unlabeled three years ago at Japan
Nursery in NJ. For the first two years it did nothing in the fall, and I was
thinking of getting rid of it because the nebari is terrible. I would call it
a clubfoot. (I finally figured out what to do with it.) However, this fall the
leaves turned an absolutely gorgeous dark red. Cranberry color.
It suddenly dawned on me that it is unlikely to be a seedling, and may well
be a named cultivar. Now I am trying to figure out which one. Here are the
clues:
It belongs to the palmatum group.
The bark is dark charcoal gray.
If it isn't a seedling, it was cutting grown on its own roots.
Considering what it's been through, it is pretty tough and disease resistant.
The leaves are not very large, and show promise of further reduction through
training.
Typical leaves have 5 deep cut lobes, sharply toothed. The middle lobe is
long & pointed. The other lobes are also sharply pointed.
Some of the leaves are still on.
Looking through Vertrees, it most closely matches the description of 'Nishiki
Momiji,' but doesn't look exactly like the pictures on the Web.
The twigs & petioles right now are dark red. I think they were green earlier.
Young leaves are light yellowish green with a reddish picotee. Summer color
is generic green.
Can anyone take a guess? I don't have a decent picture.
Iris

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Boon Manakitivipart++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++