Jeff Layman wrote:
Emery Davis wrote:
Shin deshojo is by all accounts a great tree, sounds like that's what
you have.
You're lucky to have a good one, apparently the cultivar is somewhat
diluted and
there are some around that don't look very flash in springtime.

There are red leaved cultivars of A. palmatum that stay red through
the season:
Okagami, Trompenburg, Fireglow, Bloodgood. But they all tend to fade
a little in the
shade (with maybe the exception of Fireglow), so it's a balance
between leaf burn
and colour loss. Also of course culture counts, it is widely believed
that too much
nitrogen will cause greening.

My Deshojo stays nice and red, it's in pretty heavy shade.

cheers,

-E

I did say red! To my mind, Bloodgood is a rather deep burgundy.
Trompenburg looks a bit better, but not Fireglow or Okagami (although its
autumn colour is good). Some great photos to be found he
http://www.fujiyamagarden.com/showcase.html


Sam has a great web site, and I have enjoyed his movies as they've appeared
over the last couple of years. Music and all! We have sometimes
corresponded,
I think we share a lot of the same soil and culture problems. I use
more peat than
he does...

Really culture makes a lot of difference to colour. Although bloodgood
is very
dark. These are generally referred to as "red palmatums." My Okagami,
a mature
20 year old tree, but very unhappy with the amount of water it got last
year, is
quite bright in full sun, stays fully red all summer, and normally (but
not last year)
turns a florescent pink in fall. I don't grow Fireglow but it is often
mentioned as
the cultivar that holds its colour "best."

If you're interested in Acers the UBC forum and photo gallery is an
invaluable
resource. Also where the Maple Society hangs its hat. I'd really encourage
anyone interested in these beautiful trees to join...

My Shindes only gets sun pm in summer (west facing), and is watered twice
daily by timed drip. A couple of years ago I had to cut out a branch which
appeared to get dieback, but since then it seems ok.


Sounds ideal. I'd be a little worried about getting root bound if I
were you, though.

The best "purple" palmatums (no idea what they were) I've ever seen were
growing a few hundred yards from the coast near Mystic in Connecticut. Both
were around 30 ft high and across. They looked perfect (early June - temp
was about 27°C), growing in full sun. It's a zone 7 area, they must have
got a lot of salt spray, and in midsummer temperatures must often have
exceeded 35°C. Perhaps not what we would call ideal conditions!


Well, they like a bit of cold (hardy to zone 5) and do surprisingly well
in full sun
especially where there's a little ocean haze.

I was in Massachusetts in the fall and saw a tree like this, looked like
a Bloodgood
but with great fall colour, probably 100 years old. A lot of these US
trees especially
are seedlings, sold (improperly) as a cultivar but beautiful and worthy
trees regardless
of provenance.

I the spring M.S. newsletter there are some photos of a Japanese Sango
kaku that's
600 years old! A truly magnificent tree, to really appreciate it you'd
have to spend a
whole year admiring!

-E