Japanese Maple Prime Time

June is a great month for celebrating Japanese maples, at least in Oregon, where the threat of damaging frost has passed, and the fresh spring leaves have yet to tire. Of course in the greenhouse we experience our “July” in June, as the plants therein are a month advanced from those growing outside. However, the greenhouse foliage is somewhat dulled with our use of white poly; it provides some protection from sun scorch and aids in luxuriant stem growth – which makes for greater tree size and profit – but the cultivar's true foliage color cannot be known in the contrived poly environment. It will improve, thankfully, when the plants are put out.

Acer palmatum 'Kawahara Rose'

Acer palmatum 'Kawahara Rose'

The Japanese maple cultivar, Acer palmatum 'Kawahara Rose', can be two very different plants...whether grown out in the garden, or if babied in the benign greenhouse. The June photo from outside demonstrates that the first flush of spring leaves has already bleached to pale yellow, while new shoots continue to pop off with orange-red. The photo above was taken just a few days past June 1^st, where we achieved 97F (36C), an Oregon heat record for the date. Trees in the greenhouse are fairly dull, and have been for quite some time, and indoors they were never very spectacular anyway. Kawahara means “river field” or “river dry-bed” but it is a word/phrase that the Japanese would not use, instead they'd say “kawara.” Still, my Japanese wife suggests that kawahara is not a name that would be used for a plant, unless it is a place name or a person's name. She knows Guy Maillot* from France who introduced the cultivar, so perhaps she'll seek out an explanation.

Taken at Kawahara Bonsai Company by Guy Maillot

*Maillot responds: “This variety comes from Mr. Shotaro Kawahara Bonsai Company specialized in very small bonsai. He discovered these ['Kawahara Rose' being one] two in chance seedlings. I gave them his name in his memory because he died two years later of cancer. A very nice man I am attaching you some pictures of his nursery.”

Acer palmatum 'Kawahara no midori'

Acer palmatum 'Kawahara no midori'

We have been growing and selling Acer palmatum 'Kawahara no midori' for a few years. My wife winced when I requested the meaning of that name. No midori must mean “of green,” I suggested, but she insisted that 'Kawahara midori' could be correct, but the “of” part would not be included. Hmm, the above photo was taken at the Japanese collector/author's maple park in Japan...so, is Masayoshi Yano wrong too? It is a wonder that Haruko and I have stayed married for nearly 20 years when one of us usually walks away in exasperation when I seek out a Japanese translation. She doesn't relish the linguistic assignments, my cross-examinations etc., because there is often no clear meaning – “without seeing the characters” – and even then the original meaning can be lost in time.

Acer palmatum 'Usu midori'

Acer palmatum 'Usu midori'

The Japanese word usu means “thin” or “light,” but then it can also mean “millstone” or “mortar.” Let's assume that the Acer palmatum cultivar 'Usu midori' means “light green,” and indeed the spring leaves are a cream-yellow green. The newly emerging leaf can be more remarkable due to a red border, and one could mistake its identity as the well-known 'Tsuma gaki'. The mrmaple.com website describes 'Usu midori' as “extremely rare in cultivation,” and that's probably because it's a weak plant, at least for me, which does not produce good propagating wood. Our specimens in white-poly already have burnt foliage and will enter into their summer decline...before redeeming themselves with orange-red autumn color. According to Mr. Maple “'Usu midori' was found in Tokyo by Mr. Kashida in 1988.”

Acer pictum 'Usu gumo'

Acer pictum 'Usu gumo'

Most Japanese maple aficionados know that the cultivar name 'Ukigumo' means “floating clouds” due to its green-white variegations. A similar name applies to Acer pictum 'Usu gumo' which would mean “thin cloud.” Keep in mind that the Japanese use gumo and kumo (and gawa and kawa) interchangeably, and Haruko explains that the total name might just sound better with one versus the other.

Acer palmatum 'Murakumo'

Acer palmatum 'Murakumo'

If we examine Acer palmatum 'Murakumo', matters become a little more cloudy. In Masayoshi Yano's Book for Maples, 'Murakumo' is briefly described for its brown-red foliage. Vertrees/Gregory in Japanese Maples does not supply a photo but the description also mentions the brown-red foliage. I collected 'Murakumo' years ago from the late Howard Hughes of Washington state, a maple collector who predated Vertrees, and my plants are not red at all, ever. They are mostly white with specks of green. V/G claims that the name means “village in the clouds,” but I don't at all see the name connection with a red cultivar. Haruko also disputes the “village” notion, even though Google Translate might indicate so, but she points out that the characters more likely mean “a gathering (or layering) of clouds” which would more aptly match my white cultivar. I brought this question to Yano when he visited a dozen years ago. He had a sheepish grin and said he was “sorry.” All of our conversations went through Haruko as translator, but I wasn't seeking an apology, so I remained confused. Was he sorry that his maple book had it wrong, or was he sorry that I didn't get a clear answer? To this day I still don't know, but I have never grown a red 'Murakumo'.

Acer shirasawanum 'Bronze Age'

One selection that has stood out this season, one that Haruko has grown giddy about, is Acer shirasawanum 'Bronze Age'. I won't describe it beyond what the photo above reveals, and while the seed rising above the leaves suggest it contains Acer shirasawanum parentage, the leaf shape indicates it is also of Acer palmatum heritage...so, a hybrid probably. All of the seedlings that eventually receive Buchholz “cultivar” status occur in an open-garden setting, and in our Eden anything is possible, accurate nomenclature aside. While Haruko toils, usually alone in the stuffy greenhouse, she fortifies herself with the individuals that intrigue her. I am a little more reserved, capitalistically, about the cultivars – I need more than my happy wife's smile to determine if, and how many I should propagate. 'Bronze Age' is a durable, well-branched selection, easy to grow; obviously it will never surpass A.p. 'Bloodgood' in sales, but I agree with Haruko that is has become our favorite, this year anyway.

Acer palmatum 'Kuro hime'

Acer palmatum 'Kuro hime'

Acer palmatum 'Kuro hime'

Acer palmatum 'Fireball'

Acer palmatum 'Kuro hime' means “Black princess” in Japanese, and I suppose the name is due to dark green foliage that develops in summer. There are cultivars with leaves far more dark so I don't consider it an appropriate name, but it's the one we're stuck with. Besides, throughout the growing season, this cute dwarf selection features a regular “bloom” of pink-red new growth which covers the dense orb. 'Fireball' would actually be a better name, but we already have that for another cultivar which originated from a witch's broom, and is a solid purple-red color. 'Fireball' and 'Kuro hime' – when not pushed in a greenhouse – assume the same dense round form, with 'Kuro hime' being a little more vigorous. The witch's broom origin of 'Fireball' explains the truncated middle lobe, as with other brooms like 'Shaina', 'Red Sentinel', 'Kandy Kitchen' etc., whereas with the non-broom 'Kuro hime' the middle lobe is more dominant and a little longer than the other side lobes. 'Kuro hime' delights all who see it and it requires no staking or pruning, unless the gardener wishes to thin out the interior on older specimens. I am generally adverse to grafting maple cultivars on a standard, or “poop on a peg” as one snob gardener calls them, but I admit to having produced some that way. 'Kuro hime' works well as a formal presentation atop a straight trunk. 'Shaina' is a failure on a standard since the top outgrows the stem and the head will lean over. 'Kuro hime', however, acts as a stopper and the trunk grows fast and strong and holds the ball proudly.

Acer palmatum 'Beni kosode'

Acer palmatum 'Pinkie'

Original Acer palmatum 'Pinkie' witch's broom

Every customer wants to buy my Acer palmatum 'Beni kosode' when they see a group of stock plants in GH13, but they don't know what they are asking for. It is a very slow, weak dwarf with tiny pink leaves which are unfortunately prone to mildew, and I would imagine its winter hardiness to be only about 10F (USDA zone 8). When forced in a greenhouse vigorous reversions can occur and they should be promptly removed or 'Shindeshojo'-type growth will dominate. Beni means “red” in Japanese and kosode is a “silk garment,” as in a kimono. 'Beni kosode' resembles my selection 'Pinkie', except the latter was discovered as a witch's broom mutation on a seedling from a 'Mikawa yatsubusa' host tree. I'll repeat: a seedling from a 'Mikawa yatsubusa' specimen tree grew with the same short-internode and overlapping-leaf form as the mother tree. That seedling then developed a mutation, and propagules from the mutation were named 'Pinkie'. Like 'Beni kosode', 'Pinkie' is fascinating, but a wimp.

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon'

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon'

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon'

Traditionally the Acer japonicum cultivars are not strong sellers, as (apparently) the majority of gardeners find the species to be – I don't know – rather crude. I thought so myself, at the beginning of my career, that they didn't compare well with the delicate beauty of Acer palmatums, especially when comparing the foliage. I have changed my outlook since because the flowers of A. japonicum are more large and conspicuous – and colorful – than with the barely noticeable Acer palmatums. The flower beauty is short-lived, I'll admit, and then we're left with a husky green tree that will probably outgrow its place in an intimate garden. But if you have the space, the vigorous, spreading japonicum cultivars display a lofty elegance. As if that wasn't enough the autumnal japonicums throb with yellow, orange, red and purple colors that swamp the palmatum species. OK, that performance will arrive later; today with the blossoms already past, we only encounter the plebian green presence. I really don't care if a gardener appreciates a species or not, as I'm certainly not on a crusade to convert anyone. I suspect that the International Maple Society and its North American branch find me slacking in the promotion of the group, that I should be more diligent in recruiting new members for example, but I'm not inclined to cheerlead any tree or society. I'll support maple devotion, however, with just about anyone, and if you bring the sake, all the better.

Acer x 'Hot Blonde'

Acer x 'Hot Blonde'

Tim and Matt Nichols

Acer x 'Hot Blonde', or Acer oliverianum 'Hot Blonde', is a dramatic addition to the ouvre. 'Hot' originated at Mr. Maple in North Carolina, at the company owned by the energetic Nichols brothers. Supposedly it occurred as a chance hybrid of the Chinese A. oliverianum and a golden (apparently unknown) Acer palmatum, and besides possessing soft golden leaves with an orange tinge in spring, it is championed in the Nichols' Heatseekers (TM) Series, i.e. trees that perform admirably in the southeast USA's intense summers. Finally I have planted one outside so I can judge for myself. Acer oliverianum has been described as the “Chinese Japanese maple” by the Nichols, and the species is most compatible with Acer palmatum as rootstock, and apparently also with hybridity. As you can see from the photo above, fall color is a brilliant scarlet. What a tree! – but alas it is probably hardy to only -10F (USDA zone 6), a notch less than the A. japonicums, palmatums and shirasawanums. On the plus side, 'Hot Blonde' is extremely vigorous. I despaired in mid April when my crop of one-year grafts were slow to shoot up new growth compared to the palmatum cultivars, but now in mid-June the 'Hot Blondes' have surpassed their rivals for largest size. Indeed, my original start has already pushed to 10' in height at only five years of age, and we were able to propagate over 100 scions last summer from this one tree. In these perverse times I can suppose that the anti-gender crowd will disparage the (perhaps sexist) 'Hot Blonde' moniker, but when I brought up the issue, Tim Nichols informed me that it was named for brother Matt's wife... “who is a hot blonde, and she's fine with the name.” So there!

Acer palmatum 'Lily L'

Acer palmatum 'Lily L'

Acer palmatum 'Lily L' is new and so far it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Surprisingly it originated as a seedling from 'Mikawa yatsubusa', and our old stock tree is particularly fecund and can produce linearlobums, variegated laceleafs and colorful uprights. About 25% will germinate with short internodes like the parent, while the majority are nondescript green uprights that we use for rootstock. We have named three trees from the thousands of seedlings from our venerable specimen: 'Japanese Princess', 'Mayday' and recently 'Lily L'. What fun!

Acer palmatum 'Celebration'

Acer palmatum 'Frosted Purple'

Old Buchholz has foisted many new Acer palmatum and shirasawanum cultivars on the market in recent years. This morning I went into our GH18 where we house thousands of one-year grafts and about 300 separate cultivars; and I'll admit that many look similar: 'Celebration' at a small size doesn't look much different than 'Purple Ghost', and that from 'Frosted Purple'. But I've also been in my gardens and fields recently and the variations in growth habit and leaf color are quite distinguishable.

My wife Haruko spent countless hours in GH18 cutting off the green seedling rootstocks. There was a lot of (her) bending and stretching to do so, but the chore allowed her an intimacy with each cultivar, and I know that she connected on some primal level with each individual tree. She actually encouraged the stragglers and late-comers to persevere, cheering them on to make the grade. I know from decades of experience that a swollen bud in mid-May, but without any additional scion growth, means that it is probably a lost cause, or at least 99% so. Haruko is prone to champion the feeble, constantly believing in miracles, and I guess it's comforting to know that when I'm on my death bed she'll be reluctant to quickly pull the plug. I remind her that we are a wholesale company, and we have neither the time nor energy to coddle the infirm, that we barely have the personnel and resources to care for the strong winners. Kick the wimps to the curb, dump the failed or suspect rootstocks because we have a new, vibrant crop coming down the pipeline. The medical doctor gets paid even if his patient expires, even though the doctor gave his best effort; but I don't get paid for a dead tree. Thankfully, though, enough prosper...to get us by.