On Sun, 8 May 2011 06:43:49 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On May 8, 1:35*pm, Emery Davis wrote:
On 05/08/2011 12:14 PM, Jake wrote:

So I'm at a loss; the only thing I can think of is that there are
actually two grafts but that seems daft.

It certainly is possible to do multiple grafts on the same understock,
some specialists do so but it's not current practice in the trade. *Too
expensive to do in volume.

It's unlikely that any mutation like a witch's broom would give such
vigorous growth as you see. And besides it would probably be red, I've
never heard of a red tree throwing a green sport. *(Not to say it's
never happened, of course).

I can't see where the grafts are in the picture, but most likely the
grafted part was dying and so the understock went.

I'm currently tempted to waste it and get a new one but I wonder
whether it's worth chopping all the green out and seeing what happens
first - it'll look like one silly tree though.

If you chop out the green it will likely die. *Still those are some
unusual looking leaves, not sure I've seen such rounded lobes before.
At first glance I wouldn't even identify that as A. palmatum! *Might be
worth saving.

-E

A lot of top grafts are just done to one side, if there was a bud
clost to it on the other side this may well have grown on to give you
the bush/tree you now have developing.
You could do a lot of pruning to get it into shape and try re grafting
from the bit of the red acer you have left, what have you to loose?

I did a hard chopping exercise this afternoon. I found a rather crude
"V" graft under the "dead umbrella" on the top of one of the stems
which pulled away from the stem surprisingly easily so no wonder that
umbrella was dead. I'm left with a rather sorry bit of purple growing
out of the side of one "stem" (too thin to call a branch). I've been
trying to identify the green leaves but there's actually little
consistency in them - some look like maple leaves whilst others have
more lobes - there was one with seven. There's also a definite graft
low down and I'm not sure whether there was a third in the middle.

I'm now hoping for a replacement as a birthday present. I'm told the
local garden centre has some fine specimens at the moment so may have
a look tomorrow.

Cheers and thanks for the advice folks.

Jake