On 2013-03-03 16:42:11 +0000, Emery Davis said:

On Sun, 03 Mar 2013 11:52:32 +0000, Sacha wrote:

It's suffered a bit from wind damage but battles on quite happily. It's
Sango-kaku, iirc. Yes, the obelisks look great and I'm so glad I found
them.

Buying b-day presents for spouses is a bear. I now try to deal with it
some months in advance, otherwise I forget about Adele's birthday until
the last minute, and in August everything is closed in France!

There are a lot of varieties called 'Sango kaku' or 'Senkaki' (normally
considered a synonym) around, with a fair amount of variation. I've seen
some that go completely green in summer, and don't have nearly the impact
yours does. I just found out there is a "real" one, brought in from
Japan, which is meant to be more resistant to black spot (the bane of all
red-barked maples) and holds its colour better than most on the market.
Not the one I'm growing, which is nothing but trouble (but pretty).

There are a few alternate red barked Japanese Acers. Of these I think
Eddisbury or Japanese Sunrise are the best, both much tougher than SK.
I've selected one myself, that holds vivid scarlet bark all year. Too
early in the evaluation to have named it though.

Now, back to the garden, it's been a gorgeous day!

cheers

-E

At my last Jersey house there was a fantastically coloured Acer and I
never knew which it was. It had the red stems but in autumn the leaves
turned the most incredible gold. I've never seen another like it before
or since for intensity of colour. It may be that being against a
granite wall with the subsequent 'bake' in its heat helped with
coloration but it was as if someone had tied a load of guineas to a
tree!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk