Acer palmatum
Archive entry 03.11.19
Archive entry 25.10.20
5th April 2006
Just a few leaves and branches from this treelet. I bought this as a small seedling back in the days when unicorns still walked the earth, and before the wrinkles in my face could
be used to conceal a small invading army. It sat for years in a tasteful earthenware pot outside the front door ... looking tasteful!
Eventually, I decided it deserved a chance to expand a bit, and planted it out in the woods, where it has grown more in the last three years than it did in the preceeding decade.
Acer palmatum makes a charming large shrub or small tree. Not a lover of windy conditions, I am hoping that the little bit of shelter it gets will be enough. If the autumn
isn't too blustery then I can hope for a reasonable display of autumn colour.
In the early spring of 2006 I bought a selection of recently grafted cultivars from a plant fair. They were very cheap, and I wanted more for the garden. They are currently sitting in pots
, and starting to show some signs of distinctiveness, however they are still very small, and I don't really know what to expect from them. I have included some pictures where possible.
I am happy to accept that any text I write is probably going to be hogwash!
7th April 2008
Cold weather is a terrible trial for fresh Acer leaves, but fortunately this shower of snow in April was as short lived as it was unexpected.
3rd February 2009
Heavy snow is always a bit of a shock, but better now than in March!
29th March 2009
It has continued to grow substantially, and now I need to remove some of the surrounding vegetation if it is going to continue to develop as a tree.
17th February 2011
I have finally had to face the fact that it is growing in the way again. The options were to cut it down or dig it up, and I thought it was worth trying to save.
It lifted surprisingly easily, with a good root ball and moved a couple of yards to a new position in a row of other trees.
Since replanting it has leafed out well and taken the summer heat (ha ha!) without trouble so I think it will survive.
10th November 2012
It is very satisfying to see it grow away without a problem.
1st December 2016
22nd November 2019
A popular species from Japan, where it has been extensively selected and developed into a wide range of cultivars. In the wild it also reaches into China, Korea and Taiwan.
References:
James Armitage, Dawn Edwards, Neil Lancaster, John G. Hillier and Roy Lancaster (eds), The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs, 8th edition, 2014.
W. J. Bean, Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Eighth edition.