Right now: Gold Reticulated Hefner's Red Select Hupp's Dwarf (this spring I might have said Mikawa yatsubusa but not right now) Check back with me in a couple of months :D
hehehe... For me, for now, it's: A.p. 'Ebony' - love the dark dark purple/green combo of color on the leaves (shaded/non-shaded) A.s. 'Autumn Moon' - same reason, different colors - light yellow/green with red edges A.s. 'Kawaii' - beautiful leaf shape, similar coloring as Autumn moon - lovely red edges
Here is a recap of where we stand in this thread. 4 votes shirasawanum 'Aureum' 3 votes [none] 2 votes Hogyoku Kamagata Mikawa Yatsubusa Orange Dream Ornatum Osakazuki Seiryu 1 vote Aratama Beni komachi Beni komo no su Beni Shichihenge Beni tsukasa Butterfly dissectum 'Eagle Claw' Ebony Fairyhair Fireglow Geisha Gold Reticulated Hefner's Red Select Hiryu japonicum 'Woods #2' Hupp's Dwarf Jordan Junihitoe Manyo no sato Olsen's Frosted Strawberry Oshio beni Red Pygmy Saoshika Satsuki beni Shigarami shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon' shirasawanum 'Kawai' shirasawanum 'Palmatifolium' Shindeshojo Tsukushi gata Tsuma Gaki Ukigomo Hogyoku Waterfall Wou nishiki Now a word about how the votes were counted. I have applied the following editorial guidelines: 1. The clear intent of the original poster was to put maple lovers in the difficult, even uncomfortable position of having to select only three varieties out of the dozens or hundreds they grow and love. There were a couple of cases where members were straining to comply with this restriction, but could only pare their choices down to four. I have allowed this as being in keeping with the (ruthless) spirit of the game. 2. There were other cases in which members, as someone said, "moved the goal posts" -- expanding the list to include a variety for each month of the year, for example. This, if you'll pardon me, seems like cheating. So I tossed all those selections out. That gives us the list above.
Interesting recap, kaspian, and a worthy leader so far in the shape of shirasawanum aureum. But where are your three choices......?
If I may I'd like to add a note concerning the love for A. s. Aureum. I too am a fan of this cultivar, but being in S.C. it is a bit touchy in any sunlight. I have had good luck with the new cultivar A. s. Moonrise, however, even in near full sun exposure with little sunburn. It does add some red hues at times, but right now the color is almost identical to that of my Aureum. Just thought I'd throw that out for those that would love to try this one out in the south.
Maf, you are very kind to ask, but I am such a newbie, I hardly feel capable of venturing an educated opinion. I'm especially interested in this thread as a way of informing my own choices about varieties to add to my small collection. I can add some thoughts to mattlwfowler's observation about A.s. 'Moonrise' and its near relatives, at any rate. Here in Maine the situation is (not surprisingly) different from South Carolina. 'Moonrise' is quite vigorous and tough as nails. But even with several hours of midday sun, it has not yet -- as of August 10 -- changed fully to a yellow-green color that approximates that of 'Aureum.' Most of the leaves still show a bit of the reddish tones of their spring coloration. It's perfectly nice, but markedly different from 'Aureum.' There's a similar pattern with 'Autumn Moon,' which still remarkably has retained most of its vivid orange spring coloring. This too is growing in bright midday sun. (And in rather awful soil, I might add.) It's really the finest thing in my garden this year. Now that I think of it, I will cast an "only three" vote for this plant: - A. shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon.'
This changes from year to year, but here are my new 3 favorites: 1. A.p. 'Hana matoi' - absolutely amazing pink and red variegated color combination for a cutleaf. 2. A.p. 'Bi hou' - A palmatum with the winter bark of the yellow twig dogwood. Seems to suffer from winter burn though, like 'Sango kaku' does. 3. A.p. 'Ryusen' - Just a freak of a plant. I would love to have one that was staked up about 30 feet off the ground (bob and weaved up the stake in a natural fashion, kinda like Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountain' grows). A patented Acer palmatum that is worth patenting (unlike many of the others that hold patents). I will have 3 new ones next year (or next week). Brian
Brian, These are slick cultivars. I am considering ordering a Bi nhou - but I am concerned about die back with it in zone 5B. I can put it in a cold frame, but I am not sure the 'summer bark' makes that worthwhile. I would be interested more in your comments! (althought they are off thread a bit) Mike
Sorry Michael! And thanks to Mike, Brian, and Katalina for additions to the list. Here are the updated rankings, and note that we have a new #2 favorite: 4 votes shirasawanum 'Aureum' 3 votes Osakazuki 2 votes Hogyoku Kamagata Mikawa Yatsubusa Orange Dream Ornatum Seiryu shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon' 1 vote Aratama Beni komachi Beni komo no su Beni shichihenge Beni tsukasa Bi hou Butterfly davidii 'Rosalie' dissectum 'Eagle Claw' Ebony Fairyhair Fireglow Geisha Gold Reticulated Hana matoi Hefner's Red Select Hiryu japonicum 'Woods #2' Hupp's Dwarf Jordan Junihitoe Manyo no sato maximowiczianum Olsen's Frosted Strawberry Oshio beni pseudoplatanus (200 years old) Red Pygmy Ryusen Saoshika Satsuki beni Shigarami shirasawanum 'Kawai' shirasawanum 'Palmatifolium' Shindeshojo tegmentosum Tsukushi gata Tsuma Gaki Ukigomo Hogyoku Waterfall Wou nishiki Yasemin
No way -- the polls never close! In fact your selections have shuffled the ranking again, creating a tie for second place: 4 votes Shirasawanum 'Aureum' 3 votes Osakazuki Seiryu 2 votes Hogyoku Kamagata Mikawa Yatsubusa Orange Dream Ornatum Shindeshojo shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon' Ukigomo 1 vote Aratama Beni komachi Beni komo no su Beni Shichihenge Beni tsukasa Bi hou Butterfly davidii 'Rosalie' dissectum 'Eagle Claw' Ebony Fairyhair Fireglow Geisha Gold Reticulated Hana matoi Hefner's Red Select Hiryu japonicum 'Woods #2' Hupp's Dwarf Jordan Junihitoe Manyo no sato maximowiczianum Olsen's Frosted Strawberry Oshio beni pseudoplatanus Red Pygmy Ryusen Saoshika Satsuki beni Shigarami shirasawanum 'Kawai' shirasawanum 'Palmatifolium' tegmentosum Tsukushi gata Tsuma Gaki Waterfall Wou nishiki Yasemin
I'm getting different numbers using the guidelines: Four Votes Aureum 4 votes found in posts 6 7 8 26 Three Votes Autumn Moon 3 votes found in posts 1 29 33 Orange Dream 3 votes found in posts 2 5 36 Seiryu 3 votes found in posts 6 18 43 Two Votes Mikawa yatsubusa 2 votes found in posts 5 26 Olsen's Frosted Strawberry 2 votes found in posts 2 16 Osakazuki 2 votes found in posts 28 36 Shindeshojo 2 votes found in posts 6 43 One Vote Aratama 1 vote found in post 2 Bemi komo no su 1 vote found in post 16 Beni komachi 1 vote found in post 25 Beni Shichihenge 1 vote found in post 18 Beni tsukasa 1 vote found in post 25 Bi hou 1 vote found in post 34 Butterfly 1 vote found in post 16 Eagle Claw 1 vote found in post 8 Ebony 1 vote found in post 29 Fairyhair 1 vote found in post 5 Fireglow 1 vote found in post 26 Geisha 1 vote found in post 17 Gold Reticulated 1 vote found in post 27 Hana matoi 1 vote found in post 34 Hefner's Red Select 1 vote found in post 27 Hiryu 1 vote found in post 15 Hogyoku 1 vote found in post 28 Hupp's Dwarf 1 vote found in post 27 Jordan 1 vote found in post 17 Kamagata 1 vote found in post 15 Kawaii 1 vote found in post 29 Manyo no sato 1 vote found in post 17 Oshio beni 1 vote found in post 18 Ornatum 1 vote found in post 7 Red Pygmy 1 vote found in post 8 Ryusen 1 vote found in post 34 Saoshika 1 vote found in post 28 Satsuki beni 1 vote found in post 1 Shigarami 1 vote found in post 7 Tsukushi gata 1 vote found in post 7 Tsuma Gaki 1 vote found in post 15 Ukigumo 1 vote found in post 43 Woods #2 1 vote found in post 1 Wou nishiki 1 vote found in post 25 Yasemin 1 vote found in post 36 Acer pseudoplatanus 1 vote found in post 22 Acer maximowiczianum 1 vote found in post 36 Snakebark maple: Acer tegmentosum/Acer grosseri 1 vote found in post 36
Thanks, Winterhaven, for correcting my sloppy tabulating. We'll use this as the reference list going forward.
OK- I am late on this one... I cant believe that paxi is the only one with: 1. Mikawa Yatsubusa no mention of: 2. Murasaki kiyohime and finally, 3. Aratama Like everyone else, this will next month...
