Favorite Maple Cultivar?

AlainK

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For bonsai ? Either the plain species or any in the "hime" family.

As garden/patio trees :

1/ 'Tsuma gaki'

acerp-tsuma-gaki_210501a.jpg

2/ 'Como'

acerp-como_210501b.jpg
3/ 'Kto no ito'

acerp-kotonoito_sam_160515a.jpg
4/ 'Starfish'

acerp-starfish_210502a.jpg

... and so many others. Like your own children, how can you say which one is your favourite ? All different, but the same.
 
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Rivian

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I like the corallinum group of cultivars but many seem so similar its hard to know which to buy. I read shin chishio is more than twice the size of chishio, but did shin deshojo really deserve recognition as a new cultivar?
Right now Im looking for bigger ones to plant in a field and collect seeds from later. Deshojo, Shin Deshojo, Beni Maiko and Shin Chishio will probably be used. Does Beni chidori count as corallinum group cultivar?

I thought the beni hime in Winter someone posted earlier looked amazing but hearing they get infected is unfortunate, and I dont like the leaf with the retarded middle

I will also try and get my hands on corallinum and bonfire

If it wasnt for Pseudomonas, maybe Bi-Hoo would be my all time favorite
 

Ohmy222

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I like the corallinum group of cultivars but many seem so similar its hard to know which to buy. I read shin chishio is more than twice the size of chishio, but did shin deshojo really deserve recognition as a new cultivar?
Right now Im looking for bigger ones to plant in a field and collect seeds from later. Deshojo, Shin Deshojo, Beni Maiko and Shin Chishio will probably be used. Does Beni chidori count as corallinum group cultivar?

I thought the beni hime in Winter someone posted earlier looked amazing but hearing they get infected is unfortunate, and I dont like the leaf with the retarded middle

I will also try and get my hands on corallinum and bonfire

If it wasnt for Pseudomonas, maybe Bi-Hoo would be my all time favorite
They are very similar. In many cases you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. For instance many contend Akaji Nishiki and Bonfire are the same. Others, the only difference is growth habit (one upright and one spreading) which in a container may not be noticeable. In general the characteristics that determine if one is a cultivar SHOULD be spring color, fall color, bark, size, growth habit, leaf size, leaf type, and leaf characteristics. Also, I speculate for marketing purposes some foreign cultivars have been rebranded English names. Some random comments:

  • Corallinums all have a peach, pink, or red spring color, a palmatum leaf type, green summer foliage, and generally leaf out very early needing some protection from frost in spring time. Most have orange-red fall color.
  • Deshojo is very red. Very delicate branching and foliage.
  • Deshojo nishiki is a very muted flat red, looks iridescent actually and appears somewhat multicolored; nishiki generally means variegated even though some rough barks have nishiki in the name
  • Shin deshojo is more like an bright pink-red with smaller leaves; means Deshojo improved
  • Shin chishio is a pink-red - You will often see this Chishio Improved or Shishio Improved. This violates cultivar naming conventions though. A cultivar should not (but often does) have words from two separate languages. Don't ask why.
  • Seigen is hot pink-red but turns peach somewhat quick. Pretty quick grower.
  • Seigen aureum is similar to seigen but lighter pink and the summer leaves are very light green, almost yellow; seems weaker and more delicate
  • Seigen rubrum is similar to seigen but dark crimson red
  • Beni hime is pink and very dwarf; probably the smallest leaves of any maple; are known to get fungal issues and like the soil dryer than most; I have lost two of them so obviously not one to get advice from
  • Beni maiko is pink-red and pretty vigorous. (Beni means red btw)
  • Beni chidori is in the same group but I don't know much about it as I have never seen one in America.
  • Beni tsukasa is like an orange red with green veins. Really soft growth
  • Corallinum is a softer pink and turns pink. The new growth stays pink/red year round which gives it a multicolor look in the summer. Leaves are star shaped and clean.
  • Karahawa rose is more peach with green veins. Also has a yellow fall color which is rare for Corallinum.
  • Bonfire/Akaji nishiki is a mix of red and orange/peach. they also have a distinct green-yellow vien pattern. You will occasionally also see this one called Segai which is not the same as Seigen
  • Caperci dwarf has light pink leaves and is a dwarf
  • Isobel is similar to Deshojo with crinkly leafs (never seen one)
  • Otome zakurai is a lighter pink
  • Momoiro koya san is very peach-orange
 

Bilbo_Baggins

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I'm the only online retailer for 'Yves Select' that I'm aware of, but he has been selling it locally for 30+ years. Here's one:

Here's a couple pictures of a small batch of 2nd year Yves Select in my nursery.
Freshly awake from winter sleep and full of vigor.
We use a proprietary propagation device that produces basal roots in 3 weeks or less (see extra pics).

Here's our Facebook page:

More to come soon...
 

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Kingpoutine

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This is the favourite one I own but I actually don’t know what cultivar it is… any ideas ?
 

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Oerc201

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Simply put, what is your favorite or your dream maple cultivar?

To start it off, my very commonplace favorite is ‘Deshojo’ Acer Palmatum for the spring pink/red

View attachment 331646

Another I’ve been digging for a while but have not found an affordable starter material is the ‘Ice Dragon’ Acer Pseudosieboldianum hybrid also known as a Jack Frost Maple. I geek out over hybrid growers and this one has gorgeous fall colors that is hardy to -30 F

View attachment 331645
Zanduh did you find ice dragon yet?
 

Dan W.

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Impossible for me to choose. But one that I love and was able to air layer successfully last year is A. palmatum 'Higasayama'. Incredible coloration in spring! My air layer was a twin trunk but it struggled in the begging and I lost the smaller trunk. This year it gained quite a bit of strength and perhaps one day I can make it into a bonsai. At the moment just happy it's thriving. Below are a couple of photos from the internet.

View attachment 332136

View attachment 332137

Sergio, How is your Higasayama air layer coming along? Doing well on it's own roots?
 

MACH5

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Sergio, How is your Higasayama air layer coming along? Doing well on it's own roots?

Dan, it is doing very well. Gets stronger every year. Last year was a bit wobbly in the pot. This year it's solid in it which tells me its roots are strong. I will repot it next spring and let it run again. Sadly the tree I got my air layered from, which was in my brother's landscape, died two years ago from a fungus.
 

Ininaatigoons

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This is the favourite one I own but I actually don’t know what cultivar it is… any ideas ?
People don't like to guess Cultivars, but my magic 8 ball says "Yes". lol
My guess is A.P. Burgundy Lace, but I can't be sure without a tag. Even then...
 

Ininaatigoons

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Zanduh did you find ice dragon yet?
MrMaple sells Acer Pseudosieboldianum 'ISLID' for $45 a gallon, but you gotta be fast and Springhill sells Acer Pseudosieboldianum 'Ice Dragon' bare root for $129 and ya still gotta be fast. Local Nurseries sell them starting at about $350!
 

mathias

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I personally love Arakawa for it's bark. Just need to find one.
 

Rivian

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I personally love Arakawa for it's bark. Just need to find one.
Maybe try the others: Ibo nishiki, Nishiki gawa, Allen's gold
Arakawa tends to suffer from death of the apex. The others, we dont know.
 

Nuffel

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@MACH5 this is my favorite one of your trees. You have so many gorgeous specimens in your garden but this one stole my heart when I saw it.View attachment 332200
I can only hope that one day I have something at least half as fantastic as that tree.
That color is insane. A masterpiece ! Can anybody help me with the species? It does not look like a Deshojo or Seigen to me, but I could be wrong... Maybe it's the photo.. Grt
 

Ohmy222

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That color is insane. A masterpiece ! Can anybody help me with the species? It does not look like a Deshojo or Seigen to me, but I could be wrong... Maybe it's the photo.. Grt
it is an Arakawa. I have a few (not near as nice) and the color in fall varies quite a bit. Some red, some yellow, and some orange.
 

Nuffel

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it is an Arakawa. I have a few (not near as nice) and the color in fall varies quite a bit. Some red, some yellow, and some orange.
I thought they were always orange in fall. I've never seen a red one. Very cool ! Different varieties? Or other colors because of different locations and temperatures in winter?
 

AlainK

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I thought they were always orange in fall. I've never seen a red one. Very cool ! Different varieties? Or other colors because of different locations and temperatures in winter?

Yes, colours can vary both in spring and autumn dependeing on factors like soil composition (usually, the more acidic, the best the colours), humidity, temperature, etc. in a word summer stress.
 
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