Does anybody have a Japanese Maple 'Ornatum'?

I just bought this little tree from Ebay for $13.49 plus shipping which was $10.50. I was kinda wondering how much like a shrub it'll be. It was "high grafted" at 22" above the soil, for the shrub reason, but I do hope it gets taller than that. I have a few photos of it. - That last one is after I re-taped it a bit, bit it seems pretty solid anyway, it looked like it was coming apart a little at the top of the graft but apparently it has grown together okay. It came from zone 8 Oregon so I don't expect those nice buds to open for a while! It is snowing as I type..lol It is hardy here though.
Thanks, Will

If memory serves me right this is a dissectum and was probably one of the first red lace leafs to hit the market. I suppose that is why it is grafted up so hight, to allow the weeping affect right away. I would prefer staking the plant up from a low graft. I would not leave it outside since it came from Oregon. Wait to put it outside until after your last frost. The freezing could blast the buds right off the plant. Also what kind of tape did you use? Scotch tape or something like that could adhere to the plant and when you go to remove it, it could take the bark with it.

Dave

Oh, good ideas, I will set it in the garage. The lowest it gets anymore is upper twenties but that's likely colder than it gets in Oregon. Yeah, that's Scotch Tape, it looks like some kind of tape they used, it looked similar to it I thought. I'll post a close photo that I took earlier, they did this. Whatever tape they used is almost clear. I'll slowly take mine back off though, I do believe it's already solid enuff, it felt like taping in the middle of a branch. Maybe I should just take a box-cutter and slice that tape up a side now.
Right now, it's hard to get around on two legs in all this snow, especially back there, but that doesn't stop me. I'll post a photo of what we got last nite and yesterday, it is quite white here! It is extra pretty because it's around freezing and the snow stayed stuck to all the tree branches. -

Thanks, Will

p.s. I set it in the garage today, it's a heated garage, with my houseplants, it's around 60° to 70° usually in there.



This message was edited Mar 25, 2013 10:26 AM

I personally would keep any tree ebay bought in a pot for a year or so . Most ebay trees are pumped up with nitro and not more than a season old with poor root systems ( you get what you pay for ) Dave is right high grafts suck I have a few and really don't like them .. also these trees grow slowly.. so it will look like a plant on a stick for quite a few years .. low grafts and staking as Dave said are far superior... but many ebay trees and cut rate nurseries sell them because they "look bigger" .and can sell them easier,. and therefore they can sell a three foot tree easily... as many folks ask me for the height of a tree that is usually is out of ignorance or reading malarkey on the internet.. Fullness,caliper of trunk, and an older tree with developed root system is much more important than height ...how many of these ebay trees survive is a good question . As I have said as a collector who bought maybe 20-40 ebay trees I have but one that made it .past one or two years .. . hopefully you will have better luck. Good luck Davidsan

It is growing slow, that's for sure. It looks like it did when I got it. Yeah, I'll see if Ebay trees are going to work out. As an unemployed person, I go for a good price. I know it's better to see something you buy in person, and for some, promote the nursery industry. I'm all about money right now and more importantly, a lack of it..lol Like the saying goes, "you look out for number one", that's a direct reference to my wallet! I know sight unseen is generally bad but Ebay has a pretty good "feedback" system. The seller of my tree has an over 7,000 feedback score and a "positive feedback" rating of 100% which is unusual and surprisingly very good. - Here is that seller's profile on Ebay. - http://myworld.ebay.com/acer1987?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 Feedback means everything on Ebay, it can shut a seller down having too much negative feedback. I was most concerned about it truly being a grafted tree, coming from the internet, I figured with that seller having such outstanding feedback that I was willing to take the chance. I have learned to look for a graft union (on a grafted tree) and the overall health of any tree that I'm interested in. After I got it and looked it over I was satisfied that I wouldn't have to do the return policy and get my money back, (which was an option). There are some unscrupulous dealers on the internet that sell "seeds" of grafted only trees, that's very worrisome for somebody that has to stick to a cheap price. The tree is small right now. There is no way I'd plant it now or even in a few years, it's too small. I even bought a Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' at Aldi for $12.99 about 2 months ago, I am kinda tight. I'm not spending $50 or $60 at a nursery or anywhere, too much money, I wait for cheap, I have to. That Ebay tree wasn't really all that cheap after shipping was added on, it came to nearly $24 total. I'd like to get this Orangeola they are selling for $11.99, eventually, - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Maple-ORANGEOLA-TWO-YEAR-HIGH-GRAFTED-/290924847019?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bc78dfab . Unfortunately, on that Ornatum I got in a bit of a bidding war with some other bugeyed Ebayer! Employed or not, I wasn't going to lose over a dollar and a half! So, it ended up priced at $13.49 but at least I won and I got the tree! The next time I'm going to opt for the "buy it now" offering of the same tree, it's usually a little higher but you don't have to deal with other cheapskates in a bidding war.
It is a tough tree and a good graft apparently. On May 19th we had 70 mph winds in a storm. I had the garage door up and I was watching everything from the garage doorway.
I noticed that 'Ornatum' was bent about all the way over as it was just whipping like a rubberband in this wind, but it came out unscathed, graft and all! The vacant house next door has Silver Maples in the front yard, big branches came down on my friend's car and did over eleven thousand dollars in damage to it, it was nearly totaled. This was a bad storm, but the Ebay 'Ornatum' came thru it like a trooper! But, I agree Davidsan, if I had more disposable income I wouldn't cheap out like that with Ebay, I'd rather have a bigger tree and more assurances on it, (and less worry), but it's not terrible this way as it turns out so far.