On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 12:23:30 -0000
"Rupert" wrote:


"Emery Davis" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 00:32:46 +0000 (UTC)
NC wrote:

As Sacha said Acers can be difficult.
snip
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[]
As Rupert suggests this is not a terribly exigent maple, in fact it's
pretty tough by all accounts, and may put on a foot of new growth
while young. However, it is unlikely to develop its best color grown
in full shade. It will want at least a couple of hours of light in the
morning. It can be grown in full sun, with minimal leaf burn.

I am interested in the comment about the bark, as I find no
reference to any particular characteristic, even in "Maples
of the World," and can't remember noticing anything. However this
is not a plant I currently grow, so I've only observed it in other
collections.

[]
Always another concern with maples of all types is the source.
Most retailers get their maples from large nurseries in the
Netherlands or Spain. In this latter case particularly I have seen
some very bad cultivar examples being sold, that are not very
true to type. Sango Kaku seems particularly prone to variation,
but also the other popular varieties Orange Dream, Seiryu,
Trompenburg, and anything dissected. The solution is to work
with nurserymen (and women!) who specialize in maples. I
can give a very high recommendation to Mallet Court Nursery in
Taunton. They will do mail order, also. Another very good source
is Firma C. Esveld, who also have one of the very best web sites
for maples in general.

[]
At the moment the trunk of the tree resembles the colour of a beech with odd
green sections.

I see. That sounds similar bark to 'Okagami', which I grow. Very pretty in
a subtle way. There is a wide variation of bark types and colors in the
palmatum cultivars, which to my taste adds much winter interest.

Snake bark maple springs to mind but it is a lot less pronounced than that.

You mean it is actually striped? With apologies, "snake bark maple" is a bit
vague for me I'm afraid, as it includes the entire section Macrantha,
IIRC more than 20 species, with corresponding bark variation.
Pedantic aside, true.

Your comments about cultivar examples that are not true to type may be
relevant in this case.

It occurred to me when I noticed they had some of the common names
wrong. "Maple people" would be unlikely to let such a mistake go by!

Growth of about 1 foot per year is exactly what this tree has done since
planted 10 years ago. Lower branches have been removed right back to the two
main trunks which makes it a more manageable size and displays the nice
features of the wood. Pruning other wood results in a small amount of die
back that is neatened up about now.


Sounds like a lovely specimen, and cared for. My comment about
pruning was aimed at anyone trying to keep the overall size down,
not the sort of tidying you're talking about.

BTW, I received my Kalopanax septemlobus a few days ago, it is
a truly bizarre looking thing, a 1.5 m stick with a single large, flat
brown bud on the top, entirely covered with very nasty looking thorns.

-E

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Emery Davis
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