To accommodate my Japanese maple addiction, I've been converting a perennial border and a large flower bed to Japanese maple gardens. Which dwarf cultivars are your favorites? The bed is in full sun and the long border is mostly sunny. The border already has: A. p. 'Shin deshojo', a very small A. p. d. 'Seki mori', 'A. p.'Red Pygmy', and an A. j. 'Aconitifolium'. On one side of the bed are: A. p. 'Mikawa yatsubusa', A. p. d. 'Chantilly Lace', and a fairly narrow A. p. 'Shishigashira'. In this bed I will also plant an A. p. 'Rhode Island Red', an A. p. 'Beni hoshi', and, near the center, an A. p. 'Ryusen' which I am staking to get as much height as possible. I look forward to hearing about your favorite dwarfs, or, for the border, narrow upright cultivars. Thanks very much, Jane
To me, 'Little Princess' (= 'Mapi no machi hime') or any in the 'Hime' series would be nice as a small/dwarf form.
Hi Jane, it's funny, but a lot of my JMs are so small at this point that they look like dwarfs! But supposedly they could eventually be 10 plus feet. The information on some varies, and on some email order sites they are listed as dwarfs and on other they are not. One that everyone agrees is a dwarf is "Ryuzu" which I have had growing for over 1 year in quite a bit of sun, and sun where I am is pretty hot in the summer, so far all that has happened is that some of the emerging leaf tips were frost bitten this spring. I also have a very young Rhode Island Red which you already have. It is doing well. Attaching a photo of the Ryuzu in early March. Carol
I have a few dwarfs now, but the only one that's large enough to appreciate for its form is Capercis Dwarf. I love it. It's like a miniature tree, and both leaves and bark are bright. I also have Beni hoshi ("Ruby Stars"), and I'm impressed with the vigor of the tree, but I need to try it in more sun. Last year it was in shade, and it turned a very muddy green that was a big-time blah. I've potted it now and will give it more sun this year. I've also chosen Kashima and Kuro hime as other dwarf JMs in my garden.
I have had 'Matthew' for a little over a year now, and it has taken full sun all summer in Kansas with no leaf burn at all (and we are HOT - often hotter than Las Vegas - and windy). I also just acquired two 'Kuro hime' this spring which are supposed to also do well in sun. 'Lima Gold' is another favorite of mine, when I had to decide between the two, I chose it over Mikawa yatsubusa (though this too is a fine cultivar). 'Olsen's Frosted Strawberry' is also a winner in my book. Not a Japanese maple, but look into Prunus incisa 'Kojo no mai' or as it's more commonly known state-side, 'Little Twist'. This is a contorted flowering cherry, shrubby in habit, and simply adorable in early spring with the little flowers hanging like bells or teardrops off the branches.
Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions. My wish list is suddenly a lot longer. I definitely have to try 'Kuro hime' or another of the Himes. 'Caperci Dwarf', 'Ryuzu', and 'Kashima' are also very tempting. AlainK, I love the photo you posted 'Mapi no machi hime' on the forum. It's a beauty. Also like the suggestion of the Prunus incisa 'Kojo no mai'. Andrea, where did you get yours? Or are they readily available? I really love my two 'Mikawa yatsubusa' so maybe I need to look into 'Lima Gold'. Maplesmagpie, I received a Beni hoshi graft from a friend two years ago and it has done very well, in spite of the past two winters we've had, which have been unusually cold. I'm going to plant it in the ground soon. I've also been very impressed with its vigor. It's gone from being a little stick to a little tree in a very short time. Mine does very well in full sun. Two years ago I bought a small, but lovely Aratama. There was quite a bit of die-back after the first winter, and it didn't make it through this past one. It seems to be very slow-growing. Has anyone else had difficulty with this cultivar? Thanks again, Jane
Definitely not a dwarf :) Grows to be quite a large shrub Inaba Shidare is quite a low growing dissected leaf variety
Whis4ey, everything I've read on Kojo no mai is that it's more shrubby, and should be around 5-6' - part of the reason I bought it, I wanted something smaller. :) If my info is incorrect, please let me know where you found this difference in size. I've attached a picture of my Kojo no mai in flower, as with so many things, I wish it stayed like this all year. They are harder to find, unfortunately - especially in any decent size, but now that 'Little Twist' is around, it's a bit more common. I got mine from Woodlander's (.net) in a 1g. I do know Mr. Maple has just acquired some scion wood, so they may have some available later this year or next. I will warn you, though, for me at least they are highly prone to mites/spidermites - I usually have at least one significant infestation every summer. But, our climate (very hot and little rainfall) is also conducive to spider mites. This year I'm going to be pro-active and treat my two regularly and hope they don't get any, or at least as bad. Also, again for me, they cannot take full sun all day, it's just too much, especially combined with our wind - the leaves are softer and thin, almost like a Japanese maple - but I'm also pushing the limits of their heat tolerance AND they're still in pots, not in the ground, which makes a big difference. Regarding Lima Gold, I'm going to add a picture a bit later that I took this morning of mine to the thread for the cultivar - this one is difficult to find, and even harder to find in a larger size than 1g.
Andrea..Good choice this is my absolute favourite dwarf ornamental cherry trees (Kojo- no-mai), all the pics of the potted ones are aged up to 3/4 years,the one in the ground is 6 years old and is under two foot in height and is unpruned, but in it's defense it's in a shady spot,the largest i have is just under 3ft in height pic 3 Stunning spring colours all mine have just come to to an end, then dark green leaves through the summer and ending in beautiful golden/orange leaves, place it next to a red J/M for sheer beauty,same as you i picked these because i didn't want a large tree growing in with the maples after a few years, wanted something i could move about and place in spots that look a bit drab. See pic of plant labels 5 years =1.75m growth i would class that as a dwarf, look how many J/M are classed as dwarfs at this size? and with pruning you can certainly keep it at this size but create more bulk round the sides.
Thanks for all the photos, Roebuk. I have a much better sense of Prunus incisa 'Kojo no mai' now. I'll definitely try to find a spot for it. Whis4ey, you must have a beautiful voice then. ; - ) Thanks for the suggestion of 'Inaba shidare'. I'll keep it in mind.
Roebuk, it's a good thing you live across the pond or I'd be stopping in. Yeah, that's it, to visit. And look. Only look. :D I had a larger 3g bush a couple of years ago, but after a severe mite infestation late in the summer/early fall (all leaves lost, and very stressed going into winter), it didn't bounce back. With our harsh climate, and the constant mite attacks, these grow very slowly. Glad to know someone else appreciates them as much as I do! And it seems to be more common over there than here.
These are very common in the UK seem to think i paid around £10 a plant when first bought, wouldn't be with out them now very pretty and hardy, need to be we have a frost forecasted again for tonight moved more J/M back into the workshop AGAIN!!!! Really hit hard the other night about a dozen J/M have had a good frost beating,will recover though during the season, but it certainly frustrates you just when you think your safe for the summer.
That warm week or so we had confused many of our plants. Wifey had to move many back into the greenhouse too ......
I'm lucky to live in a city because it's a tad warmer than in the countryside: the minimum this week was 2°C in my garden, whereas it was -2°C a few kilometers away. Now, it's pouring outside and because of the clouds the nights are warmer. I just hope that this rain will wash away a good deal of the aphids, it's a real invasion, and very early this year.
Jane, since I don't have time currently to upload pictures to the appropriate photo gallery threads, I've attached pictures of some of my trees I think would suit the location in question. I've included Matthew, Lima Gold, Olsen's Frosted Strawberry, Kuro hime, Aekan Ie's, Hana matoi, and Sherwood Elfin. Matthew, Lima Gold, and Olsen's Frosted Strawberry are hard to come by in any appreciable size (ie, bigger than a 1g), but if you hunt around they can be found. Aekan Ie's is a smaller linearlobum that keeps it's color better in summer than many others; even here in our 100+ temps for days (weeks) on end, it didn't totally bronze out the way nearly every other red maple does. Very similar to Enkan, which may be easier to find. Hana matoi is supposed to do well in sun, but I'm scared to try here in Kansas. Sherwood Elfin is a cutie, keeps color pretty good but does bronze out in summer, and is NOT a dissectum, even though it looks a lot like one. :)
Thanks for posting the photos, Andrea. I'm definitely adding 'Olsen's Frosted Strawberry' and 'Kuro hime' to my wish list. The first example of 'Olsen's Frosted Strawberry' that I saw did not recommend itself, so I'd had more or less crossed it off my list, but yours seems to be doing very well. I've had similar feeling about 'Hana matoi', but there are some nice ones out there. Thanks again, Jane P.S. Beni hoshi is lovely. Below is a two-year-old graft given to me by a friend and it is doing very well.
This is the Kojo no mai in my garden. More like 10 feet high now. There is a Japanese Flowering Apricot growing through it. The pink flower of the Apricot and the white of the Kojo look good together if only for a very short flowering period
Whis4ey, yours must be very, very happy! I can only hope that mine will become half as big. :) Jane, I'd recommend starting out at Whitman Farms, especially for the Olsen's, as that's where I got mine. (The Kuro hime came from Conifer Kingdom as a free plant with one of my orders.) Lucile is great, and will send you a picture of the plant to confirm that's the one you want, plus her prices are near unbeatable as is her customer service. As for Hana matoi, you are right in that there are some very nice ones, and some ho-hum plants; finding the nice ones (and low-grafted, which is my preference) is hard. For that, try Sooner Plant Farm (where I got mine) or Eastfork Nursery as I *think* Lucile doesn't grow that one much. Oh, and FYI, Lucile has LOTS more plants than are listed on her website.
Andrea, thanks very much for all the tips. I just started ordering from Eastfork this spring and am thrilled with my new 'Rhode Island Red' (an eBay offering) and 'Filigree'. I've spent quite a bit of time on the websites for Conifer Kingdom and Whitman Farms, but haven't ordered yet. And last June I visited Topiary Gardens and came back with several treasures. Thanks again, Jane
I'm jealous now! Most of my trees have come from Diana (Topiary Gardens), but it's a bit of a haul to her place from Kansas, lol. She and Lucile are typically my go-to sources for trees; if they don't have what I'm looking for, I then check with Sam (Eastfork; though she's in semi-retirement mode now), Conifer Kingdom, Mr. Maple, etc. My first Hana matoi actually came from Sam, and it was so full and lovely, but the following spring was horrible - literally 6 weeks of 30s on the weekend with ice and/or snow, followed by 70s during the week - and she just couldn't handle it. I lost that one, along with many other trees that year. :(
I ordered twice from Conifer Kingdom last year, and was very impressed with their plants. All of them were stout, well-formed plants, and most were much larger than I expected. Not a stringy, over-fertilized one in the bunch! My first order from Topiary Gardens is coming this week....so excited!
I just planted an Ukigumo (floating clouds) a couple of weeks ago. Not sure what constitutes a "dwarf" but its expected to be 10'x8' which is pretty manageable. It needs lots of shade to maintain its typical white veriagation though. Can't wait for it to get some size on it.
