Why are japanese maples so expensive?

That's interesting David, I have two crimson queens, one with a high graft and one with a low graft. I agree that the low graft is better. The one with the high graft actually looks a little bald on top where the branchs bend down. I'd never realized but the graft must be the difference. The one with the high graft was staked.

One of my Sangu Kaku's was from Home Depot but it needed some work before it looked like a nice tree. It's about 4 years in the ground here. It's a slower grower because it's in so much shade though. That will slow them down. I am enjoying it this size.

Doss in my limited experience A high graft "weeper"IMHO usually looks like an umbrella if left to grow naturally and not pruned differntly ...now if you've got an umbrella fettish I guess thats ok ...a low graft will more spread out over the ground which may or may not be acceptable and also that is dependant on type of cultivar... but if staked you can train it so most of the bottom branches still show IMHO a much better look a more "japanese" pagota look...a 24 " high graft will have AT LEAST 24" of nothing but green acer palmatum trunk and then arching out umbrella shape All of these statements are generalizations ...dependent factors are cultivar ...area planted ( sun shade) and area of country but I think what I have stated is basically true .. Doss or anyone else do you concur from your experiences...David

David - I only have experience with these two weeping trees. The low graft one is staked and in dark shade - a slow grower anyway. It does keep it's color surprisingly well. Not the right tree for that space but I can keep it manageable.

Here's the result of a high graft that's not so great I think.

Doss post a pic of the low graft one PLEASE..yah I have a genric labeled red cut leaf JM I bought at kmart or walmart 10 years ago in mostly shade and it is about 5-6 ft tall and looks similar I'll post a pic of it sometime looks like an umbrella but yours is a bit smaller and has stuff around it ..meaning yours looks better IMHO...I did alot of pruning this year cause for some reason had die back so I was able to give it a more convoluted look ..its now like an abstract umbrella ...kind of neat ...leaves just starting...so I don't know what it will look like this summer...but I assume more natural...and better David

In looking at the photo of what I thought was a low graft tree, I realize that it's a high graft tree (but with a shorter stem) that I have trained up. At this point I can let it fall and it won't have the same problem as the other tree.

This is the tree last fall. You can't see the stock because of the fern but you can see that the 'umbrella' look has given way to a more natural looking tree because of staking it higher than the graft. It's funny, I don't even know why I did this but I'm glad that I did. Although I do love my 'umbrella' tree too. :-)

This is the first tree a year ago. You can see the bald spot on top which gives the umbrella look as David so fondly describes it.

Gray foliage looks beautiful under the red trees. I highly recommend Artemis Powis Castle. It says that it grows 30" but it is easily kept under 12 inches. You can grow it as an annual if it won't over winter for you but it's supposed to be hardy to zone 5.

Red Heuchera in surrounding plantings is also wonderful to echo the color of the tree.

Here's a clearer photo of the top of the tree so that you can see that it doesn't have large branches twisted down and will drape more gracefully.

Hope that this all helps.

WOW Doss, thats the one I want ... lacy, frilly and purely Feminine.
Sylvia

I haven't planted mine yet, so I brought it in to measure and take a picture. In this picture, the graft looks a little messy, but it's really not unsightly. There's shadowing from the camera flash going on, which exaggerates the graft area.

I did not measure the pot. I measured from the base of the tree to the end of the topmost branch and it measures 28".

This is Crimson Queen which is the old standard. I understand that there are newer cultivars out on the market that keep their red longer. But definitely Crimson Queen is a lovely tree.

The graft may be a little messy, but this is a tree that will drape down over the graft anyway. It's a very pretty little tree and I can see why you bought it.

This message was edited Apr 16, 2006 7:36 PM

Doss, are you talking to me? I'm confused. The picture I posted is my 'Inabe Shidare' .

Oops - sorry for the non-sequiter. I do have to say that beautiful plants with small faults are the same as my housekeeping. If anyone comes to visit and then chooses to complain about it then they've missed the entire point.

The tree is beautiful.

This message was edited Apr 16, 2006 7:57 PM

Thanks! I love it. You should have seen me picking it out. I had every one of them off the pallet, looking at them from all angles. I've wanted one for several years and the price was just too enticing to pass up!

yes you got a good deal a nicely shaped tree ...yes the rgraft is rough but for what you pasid ...no complaining allowed..probably 3-4 years old . When you plant maske sure it's not root bound but keep root trimming to any strangling the plant and to a minimun ...I have had some shoking of disectums and others this spring that has not happened before and I attribute it to necessary root management.

Doss as far as the CQ I have two and love 'em ...they are "commom" now but still nice trees... takumuyana and red dragons are redder but I like the CQ hardiness sun resistance and bit lighter shade of red color...david

See there, I wasn't aware that CQ had better sun resistance nor that it was a lighter shade of red. If that's so, I would really recommend the CQ. It's dark enough as it is in the summer. That's one of the reasons I grow the artemesia under it. It makes it stand out.