Buchholz Plant Introductions (Part 13)

The parade of Buchholz plant introductions continues with an eclectic group of maples, some – actually most – that turned out to be plain-Janes that never garnered a following and have been discontinued.

The original Acer palmatum 'Spring Delight'

Acer palmatum 'Spring Delight' in winter

Acer palmatum 'Spring Delight' in spring

But first let's begin with a few of the successes: Acer palmatums 'Spring Delight', 'Tiger Rose' and 'Yellow Threads', as I have sold over a thousand of each, and other companies are now producing them also. I know that all three can be found in European specialty nurseries, and perhaps in Japan as well. 'Spring Delight' is the oldest, having been introduced in about 1998, but its origin is shrouded in mystery. It was certainly discovered at Buchholz Nursery as a seedling, and most likely an offspring from a named cultivar, but I can zero recollect the parent, or even when I was first impressed enough to decide to propagate. It's like it just suddenly appeared, which is odd since I now rate it as the best green weeping laceleaf available. Hmm – maybe second best after 'Emerald Lace', a Del Loukes introduction, but still I'm partial to 'Spring Delight', and I see the original seedling daily from outside the office window. In a way 'Spring Delight' reminds me of A.p. 'Tsuma gaki' in that the early spring foliage begins a light yellow-green with a crimson edge to each leaf lobe. In summer the foliage evolves to a fresh, deep green, and in autumn it turns to bold orange. Even when bare of leaves, the exposed branching pattern of winter is most ornamental. The old standby for a green laceleaf weeper was A.p. 'Viridis' which has been long-cultivated around the world, but 'Spring Delight' is a vast improvement in my opinion. Vertrees/Gregory in Japanese Maples mention it as “A chance seedling with 'Viridis' a possible parent...” That, I know, is not correct, as I have never sowed seed ever from 'Viridis', but I occasionally discover green laceleafs from some of the most unlikely parents, such as mother trees from the “Ghost Series.”

Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose'

Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose'

Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose' was discovered as a variegated seedling from the parent tree of A.p. 'Azuma murasaki'. The late Dr. Bump of Forest Grove, Oregon – my family's doctor when I was young – had a worthwhile hobby of germinating seed from his large collection of maple cultivars, and for some reason the offspring from the very different 'Azuma murasaki' was found to mother a most varied group.

Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose'

Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose'

I don't know what became of 'Tiger Rose's' sister seedlings, but a lot of them were colorfully interesting. Dr. Bump chose the 'Tiger Rose' name of one because the reticulated leaves looked tiger-like, he explained, and the “Rose” part of the name was in honor of his wife, Rosemary. Vertrees/Gregory claim that the cultivar “has cascading shoots and a semi-pendulous habit similar to A.p. 'Omurayama',” and that it “forms an upright, rounded mound up to 3m (10 ft) tall and about 1.5m (5 ft) wide.” Of course it doesn't matter the size and shape of the original tree, which I haven't seen in a number of years (when it was less than half the size of my earliest propagule), for the latter must be considered the prototype. My tree was planted next to the house at Flora Farm, and in hindsight sited way too close to the roof gutters and the bedroom window. The 23-year-old specimen is now (2023) about 15' tall and 20' wide and displays none of the “semi-pendulous” or “mounding” that the literature suggests. It is probably the largest 'Tiger Rose' in existence, but I fear for its future since the new owners of Flora Farm intend to transform the house into a research facility, and I've already witnessed how knucklehead contractors mindlessly disregard the sanctity of rare trees.

The original Acer palmatum 'Yellow Threads'

Acer palmatum 'Yellow Threads'

Acer palmatum 'Yellow Threads' is a fun, newer introduction (germinated in about 2005) that originated, not surprisingly, from the parent tree of A.p. 'Koto no ito'. It prospers in full sun in Oregon where new, spring growth emerges a light yellow-green, but when the summer heat arrives the narrow lobes transform to a bright white-yellow, hence the cultivar name. When grown in containers in the relative shade of our white poly greenhouses, the foliage remains yellow-green and belies the cultivar name. In autumn the foliage fires to an orange-red, usually, but I remember one year when it turned to straw-yellow.

Acer palmatum 'Green Fingers'

Acer palmatum 'Green Fingers'

Acer palmatum 'Little Fingers'

While Acer palmatum 'Yellow Threads' is a resounding success, previous introductions of A.p. 'Little Fingers' and A.p. 'Green Fingers' are no longer in production, and in fact, no longer at the nursery at all. I don't remember the origin of 'Green Fingers' or why it fell from my favor, but I now feel remiss to not have kept at least one in the collection. The same occurred with 'Little Fingers', and somehow it's not here either, but I hope they continue in the landscapes of some maple collectors. Both were introduced in about 1998-2002, but maybe they were discontinued because my customers by far prefer the red linearlobums, and with the greens there's already a lot of established, older cultivars such as A.p. 'Koto no ito', 'Kinshi', 'Aoyagi gawa' etc. Their demise is my fault, for I let them slip away, but on the other hand I receive little or no support from my staff when it comes to managing the cultivars in the collection, and for some reason the highest paid are also the most indifferent.

Acer palmatum 'Lazy Leaf'

Acer palmatum 'Lazy Leaf' was a seedling from about 2005 that initially impressed me for the lax demeanor of its green spring leaves. Eventually, however, the leaves evolve to a more normal presentation, and by June the maple aficionado must wonder why the name. 'Lazy Leaf' disappeared from Buchholz Nursery at least a dozen years ago, and none of our customers has lamented the loss.

Acer palmatum 'Pinkie'

Acer palmatum 'Pinkie'

Acer palmatum 'Mikawa yatsubusa'

All who have seen Acer palmatum 'Pinkie' in the spring must think they have died and gone to maple heaven. The sparkle of the tiny leaves is otherworldly, and suddenly every grower becomes my best friend to get ahold of it. Pinkie's origin is a fairy tale that's amazing, but most who hear about it are so mesmerized with the dainty cultivar that they seldom are able to mentally process the details. I'll explain again: we routinely harvest seed from our old specimen of Acer palmatum 'Mikawa yatsubusa', which is probably the largest of its kind in the world. A good percentage of the raislings are Mikawa-like, with the same short internodes and similar green leaves, while the remainder shoot upward like a typical palmatum seedling. We market the 'Mikawa' look-alikes and they are popular with bonsai customers and with collectors looking for a unique dwarf maple.

Acer palmatum 'Pinkie'

One green 'Mikawa'-like seedling produced a witch's broom mutation when it was about five years old, and the new propagants from that mutation were named 'Pinkie'. I noticed the mutant about 10 years ago, but instead of pruning off the green host completely I have always left a small portion of the mother to nurse its wimpy mutation, and to this day I'm still afraid to cut the green totally.

Acer palmatum 'Pinkie' in summer

Acer palmatum 'Pinkie' in summer

One year I personally cut 15 scions of Acer palmatum 'Pinkie', all of them of dubious quality. Nevertheless I was very pleased that 7 of them “took.” They were potted up, together with their green rootstocks still in support, but the scion growth was always weak so I was afraid to remove the nurses completely. By September the 'Pinkie' grafts mostly defoliate but they always rejuvenate themselves the following spring. Regular readers of the Flora Wonder Blog can predict what happened next, that when cleaning rootstock from all of our one-gallon pots, someone on the crew cut all of the 7 'Pinkies' off from their green rootstocks. I stood frozen in disbelief when I discovered the tragedy a month later, but I could understand why the culprit was confused since the green mop of rootstock looked more clonally significant than the defoliated 'Pinkie' runts. The good news is that one of the 'Pinkie' grafts rebudded, and I moved that pot into a different (non-maple) greenhouse. So, along with the original 10-year-old mutation, that's all that remains of 'Pinkie'. I remember when telling the story to my wife that she literally gasped in horror. She couldn't understand why I was so calm about the situation, but I had a month to reflect that I'm the one that created a complex company with employees, and maybe they did us a favor by culling out the 'Pinkie' brush.

Acer palmatum 'Dulce'

Acer palmatum 'Dulce'

A sweet young Hispanic woman worked at Buchholz Nursery for about a decade, and her name was appropriately Dulce, Spanish for “sweet.” On her own she noticed and pulled out a variegated Acer palmatum rootstock and placed it aside from the group. I was surprised, but pleased, that the energetic, positive woman had a little fun at work, because seedling discoveries are what sustains me through the horticultural drudgery. I secretly made a label that read Acer palmatum 'Dulce' and placed it in the pot. A few days later she discovered that I was giving the new maple her name, and she beamed with modest pride.

Acer palmatum 'Dulce' reversion

Eventually Dulce left the company to devote herself to motherhood and I haven't seen her since her last day, but I heard that she was happily married and fruitfully producing her own offspring. I was left with her maple as a memory, but sadly the variegation wasn't stable (although Dulce herself was) and we only propagated a handful for one or two years. While the mother tree proved unstable, I'm not sure what happened to the few that we sold, and for all I know there might be a grower out there who has found success with it. It's always risky to name a plant for your child or for someone you like, because too often your christened cultivar proves unworthy.

Acer palmatum 'Dulce's Surprise'

I was encouraged that Dulce had at least moderately caught the maple fever, that the myriad of variations found in the Acer palmatum species could become her hobby, and why not? Acer palmatum 'Dulce's Surprise' was another findling where an A.p. 'Mikawa yatsubusa' seedling expressed itself with slight cream-white variegation in a light green leaf. The effect was subtle to be sure, and the cultivar arena already contains A.p. 'Kryptonite' which is also lightly variegated. But once again her seedling didn't prove stable, and maybe that's why she ditched her nursery career to make human babies instead.

Acer palmatum 'Emerald Isle' in spring

The original Acer palmatum 'Emerald Isle'

Acer palmatum 'Emerald Isle' in autumn

Acer palmatum 'Emerald Isle' in summer

Watch out for spring, for the plantsman is then bursting with enthusiasm after the long winter, and all plant seedlings look worthy of naming. I guess I was overcome one April, in about 2005, with a seedling of unknown parentage with fresh green foliage. It was planted with a group of seedlings from known cultivars at Flora Farm, and its new spring shoots attracted me for their light, peachy color. Soon, however, the foliage transforms to a bright green, with long, narrow lobes divided nearly to the petiole. I have never been to Ireland, though I hope to visit one day, but my maple seedling was shining in the morning sun and I thought about the “Emerald Isle” which was based on photos from TV or travel brochures. Horticulture often consists of plants that are not green, for green is sometimes considered too normal, somewhat boring. But “green” is a combination of light and chlorophyll, life itself, along with a healthy dose of optimism. But don't worry about the ubiquitous greens at Buchholz Nursery, for in autumn 'Emerald Isle' glows with a deep, wild red color. No matter what, I'll always keep a few in the collection, but I concede that it will never be as popular as many of my other introductions.

The original Acer palmatum 'Dr. Seuss'

Acer palmatum 'Dr. Seuss'

Acer palmatum 'Dr. Seuss' was a 1993 Buchholz introduction, but certainly not one of our finest. Of unknown parentage, it forms a dense, round bush with unusual, slightly variegated leaves. It can throw reverted, palmatum-like branches, and these shoots should not be propagated. I don't know, but for me the foliage seems whimsical with its small, sickle-shaped leaves, hence the name. If I was to compare it to any other cultivar it would be Acer palmatum 'Ao kanzashi', but neither that or 'Dr. Seuss' are currently in production. Both are attractive, small trees worthy of introduction, but any grower with a career evaluating and producing Japanese maples has probably found something similar.

Acer japonicum 'Orange Fan' in shade

Acer japonicum 'Orange Fan' in autumn'

Acer japonicum 'Orange Fan' in spring

Acer japonicum 'Orange Fan' is noteworthy for an orange blush on otherwise green leaves. It originated as a seedling from A.j. 'Aconitifolium' in about 2007, and per the species it will form a small-to-medium size, wide-spreading tree. The round leaves terminate in lobes that are only slightly indented, as is typical of many Acer japonicums, and they transform in autumn to brilliant yellow, orange and red, and often all three colors are evident at the same time. 'Orange Fan' has a following with some of my customers, but I admit it is not one of my favorite of Buchholz introductions because the orange color will disappear when grown in shade, and even in full sun as the season progresses. I think I should have waited before I sold any to evaluate further, but as so often happens, visitors and customers expressed enthusiasm when they saw it in (modest) production, and I'm the nice guy who is always trying to please. Also, I'm the capitalist who is constantly struggling to keep the nursery afloat.

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon'

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moont'

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon' in autumn

Acer japonicum 'Aki hi'

Acer japonicum 'Yama kage'

In my opinion Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon' is a more worthy introduction than A.j. 'Orange Fan'; and it also originated as a seedling from A.j. 'Aconitifolium', but earlier in about 2003. Its claim to fame is that it produces extraordinarily large leaves which begin with light-peach color then turn to a solid green. In autumn you better keep your camera charged to capture the festival of colors – yellow, orange, red to deep purple. At the time that I named and introduced 'Giant Moon' I was unaware that Oregon's famous Don Schmidt Nursery had also introduced an Acer japonicum with large leaves, 'Yama kage'. The late Jim Schmidt called it 'Yama kagi' when he named it, supposedly the name supplied by a Japanese restaurant owner. My wife Haruko said that name didn't make sense when I asked for the meaning, because the name translates to “mountain key” like a car key. Haruko said the name was probably 'Yama kage' which means “mountain shadow,” so something was lost in translation. The other Acer japonicum cultivar with extra large leaves is 'Aka hi' which I've never grown, but saw in The Netherlands at Vergeldt Nursery. Haruko can only guess at the meaning of 'Aka hi' unless she can see the Japanese characters, but she supposes it translates to “red sun.”

Acer palmatum 'Hitode'

Acer palmatum 'Peve Starfish'

Acer palmatum 'Hitode' is a slow-growing little tree with nine bronze-green lobes to the leaves, and it was of seedling origin which we introduced in about 2005. I suspect that it has some Acer shirasawanum blood in it, but since the seed hangs down I labeled it as Acer palmatum. The rolled lobes reminded me of a starfish, hence the Japanese name 'Hitode'. At a later date I was visiting the Vergeldt Nursery in The Netherlands, and the owner showed me an unnamed seedling selection with purple-red foliage, and it too featured downward-curved leaf-lobes. I was very impressed with it and I casually commented that the leaves looked like a starfish. Mr. Vergeldt merely smiled, but then he didn't speak English and his son Job had to translate everything for him. After about five years I was at Vergeldt Nursery again, and I discovered that he had named his maple selection 'Starfish' or 'Peve Starfish', as all of his introductions, whether conifers, maples or dogwoods, begin with “Peve.” I was a little surprised that he chose the 'Starfish' name, and I informed him that there was already a green cultivar named 'Hitode', or “starfish,” and it might lead to some confusion. Mr. Vergeldt looked somewhat perplexed and reminded me that I was the one who chose the name, but I had completely forgotten about my previous description of his selection. Of course I felt foolish about my memory lapse; so while I remember millions of things I apparently forget billions.

The Buchholz crew on lunch break

Horticulture is a haphazard world when nurserymen are allowed to name their introductions.

Buchholz Plant Introductions (Part 12)

I've bounced the ball with botanists before, and I think they tend to view nurserymen in a range between crafty whittle-stickers (propagators) to rustic clod-stompers (bushmongers) and I suppose I'm probably a blend of the two. What I know is that I go home at the end of the day dirty and tired, while the botanist goes home clean...but also probably tired. Even if we're looking at the same tree I think the botanist sees something different than what I do. For example, if he describes the species as "good," it's not because it is useful or aesthetically pleasing, but rather it is correctly identified, at least according to the most recent standards.

Piet de Jong (Left) and Philippe de Spoelberch (Right) Arboretum Wespelaar Owner

At the International Maple Society conference held at Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium in 2011, I was informed by the reigning botanical expert on Acer, Piet de Jong, that my introduction of Acer x 'Purple Haze' was not "good." I've explained before that the Maple Society conferences are usually a half-and-half mix of "botanists," and a second group that I refer to as "cultivarists,"* where both groups do their best to tolerate each other. During the conference the subject came up whether or not 'Purple Haze' was indeed a cross of Acer griseum with A. pseudoplatanus, and de Jong declared that it was "impossible," that by botanic criteria the two species could not combine, that surely 'Purple Haze' was just an abnormal form of A. pseudoplatanus. The "botanist" attendees nodded in affirmation, so it was concluded as such. I suppose that every botanist considers himself/herself as intelligent, independent and self-contained, nevertheless I detect a pecking-order in the maple ranks, with de Jong at the apex.

*A rare hybrid of purposes would describe the late Peter Gregory of England, for he was a bonafide botanist, but also an author of maple cultivars (Japanese Maples, Timber Press).

Acer x 'Purple Haze'

Acer x 'Purple Haze' – or as de Jong would have it: Acer pseudoplatanus 'Purple Haze' – arose as a seedling in an outdoor bed of Acer griseum raised in New York state. Interestingly the leaves are 3-lobed per the A. griseum species, but they displayed purple undersides as does A. pseudoplatanus. I suppose that it was an A. griseum seed that was the recipient of the pollen, not the other way around since it occurred in an A. griseum seed bed, and it was certainly not an intentional cross. The seedling – maybe there was only one, I don't know – was given to me by a Minnesota landscaper who was our customer for ten years previous, and he specialized in rare and unusual plants. Sadly the scraper got into financial trouble because his wife caught him chasing skirt, and his business went kaput leaving my $20,000+ invoice unpaid. He blamed the bank, not himself (they all do), but anyway I'm not inclined to contact him for more information.

Acer x 'Purple Haze'

I began propagating 'Purple Haze' in about 1998, and one early customer was a large Oregon shade tree/turf company. An employee of that company wanted to market the tree with a more commercial name, and after observing the leaves dancing in an afternoon breeze, the field row appeared to him as a purple haze. I liked the name too, and thanked him for simplifying our plant labels. Back to the nomenclature, maybe de Jong is correct and it is pure A. pseudoplatanus, and maybe its inclination to produce trifoliate leaves was because it was snuggled in with its A. griseum compatriots. But even if I was a world-famous botanist, I would still be reluctant to declare absolutes within the plant world. And by the way, notice the autumn foliage of 'Purple Haze'; I've never seen an A. pseudoplatanus color so boldly, so beautifully.

Acer x 'Purple Haze'

Brian Humphrey in The Bench Grafter's Handbook calls Acer 'Purple Haze' a "remarkable hybrid, a cross between two sections, Trifoliata (A. griseum) and Acer (A. pseudoplatanus 'Atropurpureum'). Although not in the front rank of ornamental trees, when used as an intermediate stem in the double-working technique, this hybrid has the ability to form a compatible graft union between the rootstock Acer pseudoplatanus and the scion, Acer griseum. So far, these double-worked grafts have provided very high takes and appear to be healthy and sucker free." One plant expert says "impossible," another says "remarkable."

Acer griseum x pseudoplatanus 'Sugarflake'

Acer griseum x pseudoplatanus 'Sugarflake'

The same Acer griseum seedling grower – but at a different time – discovered another cross that appeared to be A. griseum with the "sugar maple," Acer saccharum. Botanist de Jong summarily dismissed this possibility as well, stating that it was surely a variant-leaved sugar maple with no A. griseum influence at all. It is a hybrid in the same two Sections as is 'Purple Haze'; and I knew at the beginning of my career that some growers of griseum –  before seedlings were readily available – would successfully employ Acer saccharum as rootstock, but I never did it myself. I have relayed in the past that Acer rubrum also works as an A. griseum understock.

Acer griseum x pseudoplatanus 'Sugarflake'

I sold a number of the alleged hybrids, all grafted onto Acer saccharum rootstock. Customers complained that trying to market the tree using scientific nomenclature was not gardener friendly ,but since the prospects were so wonderful...please give it a boost with a catchy trade name. I chose x 'Sugarflake' and everyone was happy, and I first began selling it as such in about the year 2000. We never did sell many because most of my market comes to me for Japanese maples, not the street-tree, shade-tree types who typically purchase from large row-run companies at a lesser price. I didn't pursue greater sales, at my small company size, because I also grew nervous whether my hybrid designation was truly accurate. I hope there will soon come a day where scientific analysis can prove the tree's true identity, and I will apologize if wrong, but I'll gloat if I'm correct. My primary evidence is not trifoliate leaves as with 'Purple Haze', but rather the furrowed trunk – which de Jong has never seen – because I've not seen such bark on a young A. saccharum. Yes, I know that a mature sugar maple can display a gray, somewhat shaggy trunk, but not as a 5-year-old tree. What do you think?

Ed Rezek's Memorial in his hometown of Malverne, NY

The late Ed Rezek (1924-2005) was a noted plantsman from Malverne, New York. I met him twice, once when he visited my nursery, and the second encounter was during a Conifer Society* conference which lasted three days. I regret that I didn't get to know him better because I found him to be wonderfully interesting and plant-knowledgeable, but mainly because of his infectious enthusiasm for all things horticulture. If plants truly make a man happy, and especially if he has no commercial agenda or need to promote any botanical theories or points of view – as do many botanists – then I'm sure to be inspired by such persons. Besides, I value that their unique perspective is based upon joyful garden experiences. We have all met a few of these persons with dirt under their nails, and wouldn't the world be a better place if our main purpose for the day was to finally plant a special seedling selection into a cherished portion of the garden?

*Edward Rezek was one of the founding members of the American Conifer Society.

Acer saccharum 'Monumentale'

Acer saccharum 'Monumentale'

Acer saccharum 'Monumentale' in the Rezek Landscape

Rezek's garden contained a towering pillar, Acer saccharum 'Monumentale', one of the most columnar of all plants, and he gave me a start when it was very rare in the trade. Actually it is still very rare because I and others find it difficult to propagate, but anytime I list one for sale, even at a high price, it is instantly snapped up. Besides the difficulty in propagation, in Oregon the needle-spire, unlike at Rezek's place, tends to boink out with lateral shoots which must be pruned back to maintain its columnar integrity. In the Flora Wonder Arboretum our specimens are above ladder size to maintain, and the project requires equipment rental or a costly tree service to perform. That drawback pales when you find it brilliantly aglow in a late October evening, and where the gardener receives just a minute of breathtaking glory before all fades into the dark of night.

Acer platanoides 'Rezek'

Acer platanoides 'Rezek'

Acer platanoides 'Rezek'

Acer platanoides 'Carlton'

A curiosity occasionally occurred in Mr. Rezek's garden, where sometimes his 'weeds' included little mutant seedlings of the "Norway maple," Acer platanoides. However, the foliage was always crinkled, as if a normal Norway was suffering from some type of herbicide damage. He would give away these freaks to plant friends, and one plantsman called his 'Curly Lamp Post', an excellent name I thought because it grew as a narrow pillar. Rezek gave one to me a few years later, but since it was an individual seedling it could not be the same as 'Curly Lamp Post'. I temporarily named mine 'Rezek' when I eventually propagated it, and oops, once again I sold or gave some away. Not too many, though, because I found most scions to be hugely fat, and my one accomplished chip-budder left the company a decade ago. My 'Rezek' also grew with a slow, narrow form, and I probably could have sold hundreds if I had them. A few years later I employed a woman who had previously worked at Carlton Nursery, Oregon, a company that grew thousands of shade trees, in particular cultivars of "Norway Maple." She pulled out a similarly twisted individual which proves that the species can get weird at times, and the plantsperson can have a bit of perverse fun with the trees. What's interesting about the 'Rezek', 'Curly Lamp Post' situation is that no Acer platanoides could be found near his garden. Hmm...

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Maureen'

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Maureen'

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Maureen'

Ed Rezek was really a conifer guy, though, and he dabbled sowing seed from named conifer cultivars. He particularly had fun with the progeny (often dwarf) of the slow-growing Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'. If they grew too fast he either threw them out, or used them as understock for other dwarf cultivars. He named one delightful miniature 'Maureen' for his wife, a lovely woman who I met once, I think on the Conifer Society outing. Rezek had no space in his small garden to observe and trial all of his findlings, and so plantsmen such as myself were the recipients of his largess, and what fun it was!

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Rezek'

One seedling that Mr. Rezek gifted me was another child of Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis', and it's quite possible that he raised a dozen or more that were similar. I grew my prize for about 15 years before I thought that I should propagate it. By then it had developed into a more narrow, and decidedly more dwarf version of its mother tree. I planted the original in the Atlantic section of the nursery and quite a few customers have noticed and asked if it was (or rather could be) for sale. Of course it is, all of my plants are for sale or could be...but maybe you have to buy the entire nursery to get the one you covet. As with the “Norway maple,” I labeled it 'Rezek' for temporary identification, and ...well you know the rest of the story. We don't sell a lot of C.o. 'Rezek' because few know how attractive it is, but for those who have seen it, they all want a couple dozen for their garden centers; you know: 10-year-old-trees for $20 because they're only just two feet tall. As with most Chamaecyparis obtusa cultivars, we have propagated them via rooted cuttings, and also by grafting onto Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd', with the cutting grown propagules taking forever to reach salable size.

Pinus thunbergii 'Rezek'

Taxus cuspidata 'Rezek's Gold'

Taxus cuspidata 'Rezek's Gold'

Other plants from Ed Rezek include a Pinus thunbergii 'Rezek', but somehow it disappeared from the nursery after I took an early photo, so it's gone forever I guess. Another conifer of note is Taxus cuspidata 'Rezek's Gold', which we still produce, but I don't remember if I coined the name or not, which is embarrassing to have forgotten. I like the golden yew a lot, but siting it in the garden is important; in fact all of mine are greenhouse grown because it will burn in Oregon's humidless climate in summer, but if sited with too much shade the foliage will be a light green. Another Rezek conifer was Tsuga canadensis 'Rezek's Runt', but again, I don't remember if I gave it the dumb name, and it's probably fortunate that it is no longer at the nursery. I have been the recipient of many plant gifts, coming from a multitude of generous nurserymen and hobbyists, and a few of them (the plants) have proven to be wonderful additions to horticulture's palette. Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Miss Grace' detailed in Part 2 is one such example, and my small company has profited from the thousands that Buchholz Nursery has produced, in addition to even more from growers from around the world. I never could have imagined its success when I first opened the scion package and despaired to find crappy-looking, bare winter sticks. Yes, I remember that day from about 25 years ago.

Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'

Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'

In about 2002 I ordered 100 Acer macrophyllum seedlings from Drake's Crossing Nursery, Silverton Oregon. The purpose was rootstock of the “Oregon Big-Leaf maple” for the two cultivars that I produced at the time, A.m. 'Seattle Sentinel' and A.m. 'Kimballiae', and 100 seedlings was plenty because the species is not highly valued in commerce because it grows too large, and moreover it only succeeds in limited climates. I received the seedlings bareroot in February and they were potted into one-gallon containers for the following summer's grafting. As they began to leaf out in late April I discovered that one tree's terminal bud was throbbing with a deep rosy-pink color. It was so vibrant that I shouldn't say I “discovered” it, rather it discovered me. I think that even a blind person would have noticed, so I deserve no credit. “Wow – look at me,” it bragged. When it was old enough I harvested scions and began propagating, and even though it is a wonderful selection, it is still an A. macrophyllum, so sales have never been strong. I now graft about 50, once per two or three years, and my market is limited to West Coast, USA hobbyists who have plenty of garden space.

Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'

The original Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'

The original Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose' is planted at the nursery at the top of the Blue Forest, near the company's truck-loading dock. More than one driver, while waiting to be loaded, have climbed down from their high cab seats and lumbered out to more closely inspect 'Mocha Rose'. One spring I happened to be near, and a gruff ruffian asked, “What the hell's that tree? – I've never seen nothin' like it.” Of course he hadn't, but I didn't offer to tour him to the other floral treasures in the nursery. Believe me, it is quite rare when truck drivers find anything of interest when waiting to be loaded, but 'Mocha Rose's' color is so unusual in May that the viewer must think he's in a dream. And I also, every spring as well.

Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'

Acer macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'

My best friend's wife, Harriette Hatch, was visiting in May about 20 years ago, and we walked past my Acer macrophyllum seedling. It was about 12 years old at the time, and the pink-cloud effect impressed her. I explained its origin, but that it was as yet unnamed, but I wished I could think of an appropriate name. I explained that the rose color lasted for a month-or-so, then with warmer weather the leaves would evolve to a glossy light brown – not a burnt-foliage brown, but a healthy-looking color. It took Harriette only a second to offer, “How about Mocha Rose?” I knew immediately that she nailed it, and when she left I hurried to make a permanent garden label. In hindsight I reflect that mocha rose is a beautiful sound, but more accurately it should be 'Rose Mocha' since the pink color appears before the leaves transition into their latte color, but I like the poetry of Harriette's name much better. An additional treat was when, for the first time, 'Mocha Rose' produced hundreds of pale-yellow flower panicles while the rose-colored leaves were first developing, and then you can understand the impressions that stirs up the otherwise bored truck drivers. The good news is that my late friend, Reuben Hatch, planted a 'Mocha Rose' down the slope of his lake-front property, so now Harriette can stand at the edge in spring and enjoy the cheerful sight, and thank you Saint Harriette for christening the tree.

Acer macrophyllum 'Santiam Snow'

Acer macrophyllum 'Mieke'

Acer macrophyllum 'Mieke'

About ten years ago (2010?) a fellow Oregon nurseryman (Heritage Seedlings) introduced a variegated Acer macrophyllum that his employee discovered near the scenic Santiam Pass in the foothills of Oregon's Cascade Mountain range. The green/pale white markings are very sharp, and now I have an established tree at Flora Farm that fared well even after our 116 F (47 C) scorcher a few years ago. It burns less after each passing year, and I was impressed with its durability when we reached 108 F just a month ago. I blogged about the so-named 'Santiam Snow' five or six years ago, and the next day friend and blog reader Dave Kemper was driving home – on a country road he has taken thousands of times – when he spotted a variegated branch on a “Big-Leaf maple.” Inspired by the blog, he brought in a gnarly portion and we were successful with a few scions. I wonder if I had not blogged about 'Santiam Snow', would ol' Kemper have ever noticed his variegated tree? It was named 'Mieke' for the nick-name of his wife Marieke (hers a Dutch name). Variegated A. macrophyllums have been known for a long time, and De Beaulieu in An Illustrated Guide to Maples lists A.m. 'Variegatum' from 1893 in Germany, and says, “Old specimens of this cultivar progressively lose their coloring.” I haven't grown 'Mieke' long enough to know if it will also. I hope the start I returned to Dave is growing well on his “Almost Paradise” property in Washington state, but if not, I should graft a few more soon, as I only have one stock tree left.