Buchholz Plant Introductions (Part 10)

Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun'

Anybody can “introduce” a plant cultivar, a cultivated variant of a species, and then you can even give it your choice name. I've done it myself, ad nauseum some would conject, but basically the introducer (as in my case) is saying, “Hey, look what I found, and do you want to grow it or sell it too?” The process forms a partnership with other plants-people and they can decide for themselves if they want to pursue it. I don't believe in cluttering the relationship by patenting my plant finds, as I've never felt an urge to prostitute what nature has created.

Sitting Left to Right: Nathan, Laura, Saya, Harumi, Sonya

The naming of a cultivar is somewhat arrogant, though, and nobody wants to saddle a good plant with a bad name. I chose the names of my first three children – Sonya Marie, Laura Anne and Nathan Richard – and their American mother ( who did the hard part) liked the names too even though we disagreed on just about everything else. My final two children, with my Japanese wife, were given hybrid names: Harumi Claire and Saya Grace, so if they didn't accept their Japanese first names, I reasoned, then they could adopt their (middle) English names instead. Well, they both kept the original name arrangement thankfully, with Harumi meaning “spring beauty” in Japanese, and Saya translating to “a field of blooming flowers.”

Acer shirasawanum 'Kawaii'

Acer shirasawanum 'Kawaii'

I sometimes groan when I recall many of the plant names I have bestowed but then I applaud some of the names I've adopted from plant-friends' suggestions, and my wife has also been the source of some exceptional names as well. One of my favorites from her was for Acer shirasawanum 'Kawaii' (pronounced “ka-waa-eee”) which is a likely hybrid with Acer palmatum. It is a dwarf, spreading dissectum with small, plum-red leaves with serrated lobes deeply divided. The original seedling was germinated by the late Jim Baggett of Corvallis, Oregon, a renowned vegetable breeder as Professor in the Ag Department of Oregon State University. The esteemed food-Prof was moonlighting on the side with his obsession to collect and grow various groups of ornamental plants, and his interests ranged from maple, to bamboos, to ferns, and egads: to Hostas even.

Jim Baggett

Baggett's maple epoch occurred when I first met him, and Acer 'Kawaii' was his raisling from seed collected from his garden specimen of Acer shirasawanum 'Palmatifolium' (in about 1996) which was itself a probable hybrid with A. palmatum. I labelled the seedling as A. shirasawanum since its seed rose above the foliage per the species. But help me out here – botanists! – how would you classify a seedling from a possible hybrid that developed in an open-garden setting with dozens of other species and/or hybrids? A muddle, to be sure.

Acer shirasawanum 'Kawaii'

Acer shirasawanum 'Kawaii'

Talon & Haruko

In any case the original seedling that became 'Kawaii' was gifted to me by Baggett at about 5 years of age (the seedling that is, not me) and I planted the little wimp in the nursery's Display Garden. One warm spring evening B.C. (i.e. Before we had Children) Haru and I were walking through the garden and I pointed out the new, as-yet unnamed maple seedling. She expressed genuine delight and knelt more closely to inspect...and she actually petted the leaves while cooing “kawaii, kawaii” which I learned meant, “cute, so cute” in Japanese. I admit that we were recently married and still in the glow of our honeymoon beginning; she was young and in love while I was old and also, and all of nature seemed to sparkle before us. So 'Kawaii' then, one of the most apt of all maple names. All who have ever met Haruko will also describe her as “kawaii, kawaii,” so I have been doubly blessed with a beautiful maple and a most wonderful wife.

Acer shirasawanum 'Sensu'

Acer shirasawanum 'Sensu'

Another, perhaps more dynamic seedling from Prof. Baggett's experimentations was initially dismissed by him as “Oh yeah, another seedling from the Palmatifolium batch.” Its seed perked above the foliage, while the leaves claimed at least some A. shirasawanum heritage. The seedling was gangly-looking and the crooked torso also said shirasawanum. But the larger it grew, the better looking it became, a lofty canopy developed but you could still peek through the lower branches. Still unnamed, I planted it at Flora Farm in front of our house and Haruko admired it greatly. One summer's evening we were walking across the yard and Haruko stopped to watch our maple's leaves dance in the brisk breeze. Giddily, she exclaimed, “Sensu, like hundreds of moving fans!”

Acer shirasawanum 'Sensu'

Acer shirasawanum 'Sensu'

I decided to propagate Acer shirasawanum 'Sensu', and it was a good move because our original went into a slow decline. It developed dead branches which I would prune off, but when it went from bad to worse I edited it completely. An early graft was planted in the landscape of my best friend, the late Reuben Hatch, and it may be now the largest 'Sensu' of all.

Acer shirasawanum 'Johin'

Acer shirasawanum 'Johin'

Many times I feel that my favorite of the Prof. Baggett seedlings was eventually named Acer shirasawanum 'Johin', Japanese for “elegant.” The photo above was taken in early June when the leaves radiated a delicious glow, and the cheerfully maturing seeds added to the luster. And, you have to hand it to Haruko, she has lovely fingers.

Acer shirawanum 'JB-F'

I could easily see why Prof. Baggett was enamoured with the individuality of the progeny from his Acer shirasawanum 'Palmatifolium', and with all of them potted and hand-watered, the old man had to invest about two hours a day to tend to them. That's why he was so generous with me, anything to reduce his workload. I was allowed to pick through the crop and take whatever I wanted, but I didn't want to appear greedy. The next winter I developed a notion that I should make an offer to buy the lot, and I mentally calculated the cost of transportation, the space that would be required, transplanting costs because many trees were over-sized for their pot etc. I hesitated to make an offer – it had to be enough to not be insulting, but if too much then I wasn't sure if I could afford to be extravagant. Hmm...

It was about August when I called Prof. Baggett, finally deciding (to myself) that $1,500 would be my offer. When I asked about the maples he astonished me by revealing they all had died. “All of them?” Answer: “Pretty much,” and he griped that he still had a lot of cleanup to do. True, we recently endured the previous winter's cold snap, and I also lost some (too many) plants at the nursery. Baggett's maples were mostly in pots too small for the tree size, and when exposed to brutal elements the experienced nurseryman knows the likely outcome.

Acer shirasawanum 'Sensai'

Acer shirasawanum 'Sensai'

My offer dissolved before uttered, and I never told him about my intentions, just as well. All of the dozen-or-so seedlings that I rescued the year before were given names, a way for me to identify my new pets, even though I knew that I wouldn't propagate all. Acer shirasawanum 'Sensai' is the poor sister to 'Kawaii', but maybe I propagated a few and I know that I gave away scions. I only have the original runt in the Display Garden, and while leaves appear every year, it never really puts on growth and has never been in general production. When Haruko first encountered 'Sensai' it too was an unnamed seedling, and she uttered “sensai” matter-of-factly. “Delicate” then. If a Japanese person is described as sensai, he or she has a tendency toward shyness or is possibly overly sensitive. To me that sounds like a wimp, and I find 'Sensai' to be the wimpy sister to the more glamorous 'Kawaii'...but I don't dismiss her altogether; and who knows – maybe she is playing innocently simple, and she is evaluating me.

Acer shirasawanum 'Red Dawn'

Acer shirasawanum 'Shira Red'

Acer shirasawanum 'Shira Red'

One seedling that I looted from Baggett's batch was chosen for its red foliage, but in spite of its A. shirasawanum parentage, it clearly looked to be a hybrid with A. palmatum. Since the seed (which eventually developed) rose above the foliage I named it Acer shirasawanum 'Shira Red'. It never became popular because it just wasn't red enough, at least compared to the myriad of palmatum cultivars such as 'Bloodgood', 'Red Emperor' etc. But with the shirasawanum inclusion I supposed it to be a little more winter-hardy than the straight palmatums, so I hoped that would be a sales bonus. At the same time I began to propagate 'Shira Red', another maple entered the trade that was given the catchy name of A.s. “Red Dawn'. I know where I got my start of 'Red Dawn', a mail-order company that charged me full retail price. When I inquired about the origin of 'Red Dawn', the company supposed it originated from me. Of course not – why would I order one at retail price if it came from me? In any case I still don't know the story of 'Red Dawn', but it looks identical to my 'Shira Red' in foliage appearance, but the seed of 'Red Dawn' dangles down per the palmatum species. Therefore I declare my 'Shira Red' the winner should there be a competition.

Acer shirasawanum 'Delicut'

I'll terminate the Baggett saga with a roundup of some maples that didn't go far, or at least I didn't elevate them. Perhaps unfairly. I thought that Acer 'Delicut' – again a probable shirasawanum hybrid with palmatum – was attractive in foliage, but it sprawled irregularly and was more-or-less just another green laceleaf. Besides, I had already named 'Sensai' meaning “delicate,” so why was I doubling up with 'Delicut', even though I gave it a cute twist to the name? I don't know: things happen or they don't, and 'Delicut' didn't continue here, but it's possible that the few I propagated still exist somewhere.

Acer shirasawanum 'Green Elf'

Acer shirasawanum 'Green Flag'

Acer shirasawanum 'Green Snowflake'

Acer shirasawanum 'Green Snowflake'

Acer shirasawanums (or hybrids) 'Green Elf', 'Green Flag' and 'Green Snowflake' were also dismissed, and none of them are at my nursery either. Also gone are Acer palmatums 'JB-31' and 'JB-33' – Baggett's code names – and also probably some other J.B.'s; because I was then in mid-career and over-worked, over-stressed and in mid-divorce...when many projects just got away from me. I did a lot but I didn't do all I wanted, which summarizes my life story.