Maples in the Morning...Part 2

My wife Haruko is a lot of fun, believe me. She knew that I would leave for work in the morning before she arose from bed, so she communicated via the above cartoon. It was 100 F the previous day and I was exhausted with no energy left to prepare scions. Apparently I did considerable complaining the night before, and naturally I worried that employee xyz would forget to water a greenhouse. I'm happy to report that all went well, but still I've learned to never assume it will. And by the way I'm always depicted in her 'toons as a polar bear, while she is often an alpaca, her father is an owl – a wise owl – and her mother is a baby seal. If you refer back to the past blog, A Kyoto Dream from January 3^rd, 2020, you will see a photo of the animal similarities of the Buchholz-Nagamine family.

Maple grafts

This past July I trained two additional employees to graft, and after initial struggles they now seem to be reliably adept, but with the more rare scions still going to my ace grafter J. Since maple liners have been in great demand the past couple of seasons, I ordered an additional 7,000 rootstocks (3/16” caliper) already in pots, to supplement the original 25,000 that we're almost finished with. 15 years ago I was counseled by a chirpy employee, a know-it-all – since summarily executed...err, terminated – that I must “spend money to make money.” I replied to the wise guy that you have to have money before you can spend money to make money, and no, I wasn't going to spend $80,000 on a big new tractor so he could play around “farming” in an air-conditioned cab. Anyway I was reminded about his wisdom when I decided to purchase the additional 7,000 rootstocks, and hopefully this owner is making sound spending decisions.

Acer palmatum 'Jubilee'

Acer palmatum 'Jubilee'

Acer palmatum 'Jubilee'

Last week I discussed some new maple cultivars that were not listed in the latest Vertrees/Gregory Japanese Maples (4^th edition 2009). There are probably hundreds more due to the “name-every seedling” mentality that maple geeks are inclined toward, myself included. The blog ended with a solo photo of Acer palmatum 'Jubilee' but with no description or explanation. Some years ago I wrote for a Buchholz maple introductions presentation: “Acer palmatum 'Jubilee' forms a vigorous tree with a bushy shape. It originated as a seedling from 'Purple Ghost'. It is similar to 'Amber Ghost' but its lobes appear more deeply divided and the color is more pink. Has not been released yet.” Well, it has now been "released" and we've grafted about 300 this summer. A row of stock trees grows in full sun at Flora Farm and it's almost an evening ritual for me to walk out and admire 'Jubilee'. I think of the word jubilee as a “rejoicing,” and indeed it has a biblical connotation, originating from Greek iobelos, from Hebrew yobhel for a “trumpet” or “ram's horn.” See Levit. XXV:9.

Acer palmatum 'Celebration'

Near the 'Jubilee' stock is a row of Acer palmatum 'Celebration' that I am also enamoured with. The 'Jubilee' photo was taken recently but the 'Celebration' photo (above) was from earlier in May. Of the latter I wrote: “Acer palmatum 'Celebration' was introduced in 2014. It is possibly one of our best introductions ever, with a bright purple-red leaf that stays more vibrantly red than its parent, 'Purple Ghost'. This originated from a group of seedlings that were germinated in 2007, and it has always stood out from its brethren from the same crop.” Jubilee and a celebration have similar word meanings, and it demonstrates that basically I am a happy guy.

Acer palmatum 'Green Tea'

Acer palmatum 'Green Tea'

Another Buchholz introduction (2013) is Acer palmatum 'Green Tea', a vigorous upright seedling selection which looks nothing like its parent Acer palmatum 'Amber Ghost'. If anything “Green Tea' resembles Acer palmatum 'O sakazuki', the latter which is described in The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs (2014) as “Leaves green, turning in autumn to fiery scarlet, probably the most brilliant of all Japanese maples. C 1882.” I still grow 'O sakazuki' but in small numbers because there's not much demand for it any more, and besides 'Green Tea's' foliage is far more interesting in spring, plus equal to the famous 'O sakazuki' for brilliant fall colour. The stout, broad-canopied 'Green Tea' is a man's plant with nothing frilly or wimpy about it. I have stated before that you can never really “own” a tree, rather you just “borrow” it for a period of time. I assume that my original seedling – introduced in 2013 – will outlive me, or I certainly hope so, and thanks for the memories.

Acer palmatum 'Festival'

Another offspring from Acer palmatum 'Amber Ghost' is Acer palmatum 'Festival', a 2012 introduction from seed germinated about 2002. I have good-sized, husky trees of 'Festival' at Flora Farm. I admit that sales are weak as is often the case with “fall-color” cultivars, but what ephemeral spring flower is any more fantastic than the 'Festival' in the fall?

Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'

You will find Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' listed in the Vertrees/Gregory maple book. Of course it is, it's probably the most popular Japanese maple cultivar in the world. Surprisingly nobody knows for certain its origin. In Japanese Maples we read that a Carville (1975) suggested that it was a selection from Acer palmatum f. atropurpureum by Bloodgood Nursery, Long Island, New York. Another theory has its origin in Boskoop, The Netherlands, and was propagated by the now defunct Ebbinge and Groos firm. V/G state that “it appears to have been cultivated in the United States since well before World War II.”

For a dozen years or so we have been growing a plant named Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood (Original)', and it was explained to me that the scions came from the original 'Bloodgood' Tree. I invented the new name to keep it separated from our other 'Bloodgood' trees, but my name is not, and should not be included in the V/G book. So, how do they compare then? Well, they look the same, feel the same, smell the same, graft the same and grow the same. They are the same, and I'm only explaining to our customers who purchase our trees the story about the 'Bloodgood (Original)' labels. I think it would be a fun project for the International Maple Society to research the matter, or if I can retire before I die, I might do so myself. By the way, the possibilities of 'Bloodgood's' origin appear in the first edition (1978) of Japanese Maples, so Vertrees himself couldn't solve the mystery. Most likely, though, the cultivar itself, or at least its name, go back to Bloodgood Nurseries, which is claimed to be America's oldest nursery, established in 1790. Sadly, the source of our 'Bloodgood (Original)' scions is lost due to past employee negligence – yes, the “spend-money-to-make-money” kid, so if the gifter is in the Flora Wonder Blog readership please let me know.

Acer palmatum 'Sweet Lorraine'

Acer palmatum 'Sweet Lorraine'

Acer palmatum 'Sweet Lorraine'

Nat King Cole

The final cultivar that I'll mention is Acer palmatum 'Sweet Lorraine'. It's a pretty little tree but due to my negligence I don't have a clue as to her seed parent. The original is in a 20 gallon pot in the greenhouse and is about 3' tall by 4' wide in 15 years. As I've said before, those dimensions mean nothing unless one propagates it via tissue culture or from rooted cuttings, then the propagules would be of diminutive size like the mother tree. Fortunately my first grafted trees have nearly reached the mother's size at only 6 years of age, and they are able to shoot out graftable scions. 'Sweet Lorraine': what a name. It came to me from the name of a popular song by Cliff Burwell (music) and Mitchell Parish (lyrics) that was published in 1928. Do yourself a favor and google Nat King Cole/Sweet Lorraine for a beautiful rendition. Or, for you rockers out there, try Country Joe's cover. Oh Baby – Sweet Lorraine!

I've just found joy
I'm as happy as a baby boy
With another brand new choo-choo toy
When I met my sweet Lorraine, Lorraine, Lorraine

She's got a pair of eyes
That are brighter than the summer sky
When you see them, you'll realize
Why I love my sweet Lorraine

Now when it's rainin', I don't miss the sun
Because it's in my baby's smile
And to think that I'm the lucky one
That will lead her down the aisle

Each night I pray
That no one will steal her heart away
I can't wait until that lucky day
When I marry sweet Lorraine

Now when it's rainin', I don't miss the sun
Because it's in my baby's smile
And to think that I'm the lucky one
That will lead her down the aisle

Each night I pray
That no one will steal her heart away
I can't wait until that lucky day
When I marry sweet Lorraine