Lovely pictures, thanks! John your "Unknown" is a Sycamore Maple, Acer pseudoplatanus. If it's not grafted it may just one of the many pretty seedlings that leaf out red/orange in spring. You had better name that Mikawa seedling before someone else does! :) Just joking of course. It seems like there are a gazillion of these around now. Nice to see someone's 'Mino yatsubusa' doing well, mine had a hard winter, which included getting a couple of cows get into the yard, one of whom ate half of it. It's coming back but reluctantly. Speaking of sycamore maples, here is one of my selections that I planted out this year. It starts out quite a dull olive green but then develops into this as the leaves mature. I like it a lot, we'll see how it does in this sunny spot.
The unknown is grafted. It would be an older cultivar 20+years. Here are the colors in June. The shaded areas are yellow/white and where the leaves that get more sun have a pure white color with green veins. Green speckles on all the mature leaves. Ha ha, my wife and I were just talking about all the mikawa seedlings aka 'similars' flooding the market! We recently visited Tim Brotzman of Brotzman's nursery and he referred to the flood of cultivars across the spectrum as 'Similars' (not just maples, in fact we were discussing hamamelis, which is one of his many passions). Tim referred to them as 'Similars' instead of cultivars. He was kind in his judgment of people who rush things to market; describing it as well intentioned people, and that it's impossible to have the knowledge of everything growing around the world and that it's difficult to have experience with everything that is introduced. I agreed, but also feel with Japanese maples things have gotten out of hand and that some old varieties have been re-introduced with a new name. He agreed that it can be a problem but he feels that is more rare and most just didn't know of the original plant. Tim did disclose that he does not follow Japanese maples and that it's impossible to keep up with everything. Tim introduced White Tigress Striped Maple, in fact he showed me the original tree! I could listen to him talk all day, his knowledge, history, and stories about discoveries, research, and friendships with worldly well known Plantsmen were so interesting! He was such a personable guy and is a true pleasure to be around. Here are Tim's introductions: Brotzman's Nursery- Variety Introductions Sorry to hear that. Mine had some growing pains getting established. I vertical mulched with Phc Roots and sharp silica. It seemed to then catch itself last summer before going past the point of no recovery. Lost a few of the thinner branches before recovering but overall this season you would never know it. The Winter was cold and long with a very wet spring and I was concerned, but it came out with no loss whatsoever. One other thing Tim mentioned, was about things being sold that are not true to form. Much of that comes down to propagation. He mentioned how some plants need to be propagated during summer ONLY, so that you get true scion wood. I was so happy to hear this as I have the opinion that many varieties of Japanese maples should be grafted during the summer only. We discussed how some plants (including maples) have a tendency to revert and the only way you can ensure you are getting the real thing is to graft those varieties in Summer only! This is the only way of knowing you are grafting the real cultivar and not something that has reverted. One last interesting thing, Tim brought up, with fastigiate conifers like spruce they must be grafted from the terminal bud. If you don't take from the terminal bud, instead of getting something upright, you get something that grows horizontal!
What a wonderful collection you have! Some "purists" might criticize the look of this bonsaï, but I like it a lot: to me it evokes a Chinese landscape. Very nice penjing ;-)
Thank you! I applaud your open mindedness! I like the bonsai you share and admire the pots you have available and your eye for selection. I love Asian arts (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean). Love penjing and the art influenced by the Yellow mountains in China. Maybe that is what influences my vision and the potential I see in a tree that I decide to grow as bonsai. I will share my pinterest boards with you, if interested: Chinese art: Chinese art Japanese art: Japanese traditional art Bonsai art: bonsai Japanese maples: Japanese maples My bonsai are anything but traditional! I guess that's what happens when you study under Master Me' and I don't take myself too seriously. I don't believe you can master art or anything related to nature, we are always learning and aspiring to a higher level; just when you think you have mastered something I find reality and mother nature teaches us a lesson. If your art involves trees, then we are just a custodian for a short period of time in the life of that tree.
Our morning coffee with Orange dream and the birds singing their morning songs. Still early enough to catch the landscape lights.(photo doesn't do it justice) Love Spring mornings, no mosquitos just peace and beautiful Spring foliage.
John you make me want to revisit the Cleveland area, just to enjoy your garden! I think your pseudoplatanus looks a bit like 'Leopoldii' but hard to tell. There were also quite a lot of seedlings under the moniker 'Patchwork' in the late 90s, early 2000s. If the undersides of the leaves are purple, it might be one of them. Here's a few more, the first 2 are of a Chisio seedling, from seed sent to me by a forum member, and really a maple I adore in spring. Very hard to capture it's real beauty in a picture. The next two pairs are A. circinatum 'Sunglow' and 'Shigitatsu sawa', planted out again this winter after about 5 years spent recovering in a pot. I hope this location will be easier for it. The view of the shady north side of our woodshed and house features A. campestre 'Pulverulentum' and A. oliverianum 'Nakahari beni', along with the spectacular Cornus controversa 'Candlelight'. My office window looks out from the hidden corner behind this plant, and I am constantly fooled into thinking it's sunny out, even in overcast Normandie. The last is a collection of A. campbellii from N. Vietnam, with fabulous wide leaves. Early days, hopefully I can grow it.
We would be delighted to have you and Adele for a visit if that ever became a reality. We also have some amazing growers to the East that would be worth visiting and areas around Cleveland that were a hot area for horticulture in the early 1900's making for some amazing specimens to see in the present day. Thanks for the help with the unknown tree. I have to check the underside of the leaves, but if memory serves me right they are not purple. I just love those first 6 photos. Some very beautiful trees! Now I need a A. circinatum 'Sunglow', such a cool looking leaf and tree! Thanks for sharing your beautiful and diverse collection of maples! Each post is like a trip to an arboretum that you get excited about discovering something new. You have done an excellent job hitting your goal to expand the collection beyond Acer palmatum and I have enjoyed the enlightenment through your generous sharing along the journey.
some more from the other day straight from the camera: mikawa y seedling filigree kingsville boxwood bonsai Emerald Lace Hikasayama garnet garden view from patio pendula julian
Selection of reticulated leaves which i must admit are looking quite nice this year , will have to have a late spring more often :) every thing is opening well now (finally) amazing what a bit of warm weather/sun will do. Amagi shigure Amber ghost Ariadne First ghost Mikazuki Peaches and cream, two trees which are in very good form and defintion this year. Purple ghost
Here are a couple picture of Mino yatsubusa from the other day: A few more Spring pictures. Welcome to the spring jungle.
That's a really beautiful garden you have. That's a great cultivar, as a bonsai fan, I can imagine what a savvy bonsai enthusiast could do. PS: whenever I read "mino", it makes me smile. That's the way people in the south-west of France call kids. Example: Les Sages Poètes de La Rue - J'Rap Pour les Minos Not really my cup of tea as far as music is concerned, but it's part of our culture now and I can appreciate it.
At last everything is moving , the ghosts and other reticulates/variagates and shade trees etc are really showing great colours and leaf definition well this year.
I agree that it's a great cultivar. Would love to see a very old bonsai from Japan but only found: Mino Yatsubusa maple in white pot Original source: https://bonsaitonight.com/2010/05/07/mino-yatsubusa-and-other-bonsai-fun/ Here is a large A. buergerianum 'Miyasama yatsubusa' bonsai: Yuki Tamori with Acer buergerianum 'Miyasama yatsubusa' From Floral wonder blog on Acer buergerianum, Terrific Tridents- original source: Flora Wonder Blog: The Terrific Tridents
JT1: I can't believe how good the specimens at that Leuty Nursery are. We don't have anything like that around here in Raleigh NC. At our garden shops those trees would be 3x smaller with poor shapes. Uprights are often trimmed into a straight pole to fit into a greenhouse better =(
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the photos! I discovered Leuty after we ourcompleted our yard. Had I discovered Leuty sooner our yard would have been full of their stuff. We have managed to get (squeeze) a few things from them. Going there is always exciting, wish you were closer because I would show you some of the trees I wish I had room for in my yard.