Hi all,
I thought I would post a few pics of my Acer pseudosieboldianum from this fall since the fall colors could only be described as a "kaleidoscope". I think these leaves are the most beautiful I have ever seen on this tree. I'm not sure what caused the fall color to look like this?
Mike
Here is another.
and another.
here is the last one.
Does anyone know why the color of the leaves on this tree are so blotchy? This is the first year the leaves have looked like this.
Thanks,
Mike
I'd be afraid to keep that in your yard. I think you need to send that infested sucker right on down to KY, and I'll quarantine it and keep it under observation for 40 years or so. I'll report right back, honest.
So these are the questionable pictures you've been saving up for us...
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/666641/
You're such a curmudgeon.
(:o)
I try...
I took many pictures of the tree on the 29th of October and these are the only 4 pics of this tree that turned out fairly decent. The majority of the pics have some flaw in them, so I wouldn't post them here. I just downloaded these pics from my camera yesterday, so I had no idea if any of the pics were any good.
It's funny, this tree did not have any fall color for the first several years. I even contemplated removing the tree and trying to find another A. pseudosieboldianum from another source. I would guess that the tree took 5 years to produce any fall color at all. I purchased this tree from Heronswood Nursery. I am so glad that I didn't remove the tree because this tree has the best fall color of any tree in my yard (infested or not (:o).
Mike
Mike,
I have been watch a A. pseudosieboldianum at work and it has acted quite like yours. Not much in the way of fall color for the last 3-4 years and then this year, excellent color! Also had blotchy color like yours but not as bad. It's planted in about 3/4 shade and fall color was predominantly yellow with some red. More infestation for VV.
Regards,
Ernie
well, I'm going to chime in here even though you all know way tooo much about trees- (ok, i'm jealous) here's my sad a. psuedosieboldianum story- also ordered from heronswood about 10 years ago- it perked along for about 3 years, then slowly every growing season more and more branches died back, and i eventually pulled it out to releave its misery - i had assumed it was just too cold up this way- but i guess MN is colder...meanwhile, my experimental japanese maple is doing just fine- nice pictures tl, also loved the bald cypress thread-what a majestic tree- i'm happy to tag along with you folks and learn what i can. sarah
Sarah,
Learn away! Glad you're here. I learn something almost every time I log on. Sorry about your Acer pseudosieboldianum. Normally that's such a tough tree.
Scott
Sarah I also had one of Dan Hinkleys Pseudosieboldianums and it never thrived in Montana where other zone up trees are doing fine. I think the one he had with the Herronswood name was a Zone 6 or higher.
Did Dan have an A. pseudosieboldianum that he had given the cultivar name: 'Heronswood'? When I purchased my tree from him, the tree was just labeled with the genus and species name. There was no cultivar name associated with the tree.
My tree has done just fine in USDA zone 4a (to -30°F) with no winter die-back. Aside from the tree having no fall color in its early years, I have been very happy with this tree.
Maybe the sites where your trees were planted were not favorable to the trees and that's why your trees failed/didn't prosper?
Has anyone had their trees flower? I have not seen any flowers/seeds on my tree at all, yet.
My tree grows in full sun.
Mike
This message was edited Nov 11, 2006 8:03 AM
The ones at the Longenecker Garden - UW Madison flower and produce viable seed. MUCH older trees though.
I don't know the cultivar name but it was from the tree right near the house out by the driveway. Now Statue area for little and long. I had mine in partial shade until full sun in afternoon. Soil was perfect. I don't know why it failed.
I think my poor tree was ill- it shrunk instead of grew, with leaves wilting and stems dying all summer too starting at about 4 yrs old...it wasn't just winter kill....
I wonder if anthracnose got your trees? Especially your tree, sjms. It really sounds like that could be what happened.
it was some such thing, tl- the wilting was whole stems at a time- kind of like a clematis might do. i actually thought it might have to do with that it was planted somewhat near the root zone of a huge old maple that had died a few years earlier- the tree was taken down and the stump ground- but perhaps disease was communicated through old roots- or soil- I've since planted some lilacs, and styrax....one of the lilacs does struggle a bit. hmmmmm.. everyone else is fine.
Sounds like verticillium wilt, which could have killed the old maple before it.
Thanks for the correction, Kevin; I could not remember the name of that disease.
Sarah:
Use your cooperative extension service's plant pathology diagnostic services, when encountering these "mystery" problems. You've already paid for it with your tax dollars, and you'll be doing a service to your community (and other DGers) by identifying what the pest is/was.
As good as the participants here are, without visual information or a hands-on visit to your site/plant, it is really just educated guessing. Many things (environmental as well as pestiferous) could have led to the death of your maple. Association with the loss of a previous plant is possible, but shouldn't be assumed to be the causal agent.
Verticillium is not hard to diagnose. It's worth the time to investigate.
i know, i have not used this resource enough! thanks all-
Hey Mike I was just perusing old threads to see what I missed and found this one. I was at the Morris Arboretum in Philly in early November a couple of years ago and there was an A, pseudosieboldianum there that looked very similar to your plant. It had real kaleidoscope color with blotches of contrasting color on the leaves just like your pictures show. Somewhere in my 1000s of garden pictures taken before my move/divorce I have a bunch of pictures of this plant.
I had a small one at my old place, one year it turned bright orange, another year had no color to speak of, then I moved it without watering it (trust me, that is not a very good technique) and it croaked.
I was so struck by the one in Philly (and yours....) that I went out to Gee Farms, a local maple haven, and tried to find a good one like this, but there were none nearly so nice as that one or yours. In fact, they were all either yellow or a rather dull bronzy orange red.
Did you get yours by mailorder?
By the way Mike and others, now that I see the link to the other thread in which there was a discussion of maples not getting good color right away, the Morris Arboretum tree was perhaps 20' tall or more and wide, indicating that it had clearly been in place for some time. In fact, it was the largest and oldest specimen of this plant I had ever seen. And I am not sure I have ever seen more spectacular color on a tree. So this might tend to confirm the notion, that one has to wait, be patient for good color to develop in these plants.
DRAT! Is there anyone else out there who gets tired of all this "patience" crap? Waiting 18 years for a yunan magnolia to flower or a maple to produce, it gets old......
Just don't develop a fancy for bamboo flowers...
I've been growing A. pseudosieboldianum in Newfoundland since1999. The plant was just 2 feet at the time. It is now nearly 9 feet and, aas can be seen, was planted way too close to the house. I guess pruning is in the future. Meanwhile, it has always had excellent fall colour. Varies a bit from orange-yellow to pink-orange from year to year, but overall, always a show stopper.
Hi David,
Yes, I got my tree from Heronswood in 1999 or 2000. The tree didn't have any fall color at all for the first 4 years or so. There are pictures in the PlantFiles that show the fall color that this tree had in 2004 - completely different than the fall color this year. Weird.
You know what gets old? Zone 4a. I am so envious of you zone 5, and higher, people. I do understand about the waiting game getting old. I usually plant smaller specimens so there is always a "wait" for anything to become a statement in the landscape.
Todd,
Beautiful tree and picture. Your tree hasn't had different Fall color since you've planted it? Is your tree in full sun or somewhat shaded? My tree is in full sun. I will be interested to see what color my tree produces next Fall.
When I first received the tree it had two trunks. I let the tree grow for a couple of years and then removed the second trunk. There were some roots that were attached to the pruned trunk so I potted it and sold it at a plant sale a year later. I'd be interested to see what that part of this tree looks like now.
Mike
My tree gets sun from early monring till about 2 pm then it is shaded for the rest of the day. It has always been very reliable for its colour.
I was just perusing this thread, because a nurseryman just "gave" me an A. pseudosieboldianum. Most of the trunk got broken off. We were buying something else, and the subject of Korean maples came up.
Here's my question: what should I do about soil pH? We have alkaline soil, around 7.8. It's clayey, but workable. Does this tree have a chance? The nursery has them growing in their garden along a creek. Do you suppose the soil is more acidic there?
I would appreciate any educated guesses. We have very dry winters and wild temperature fluctuations.
Hmm... I think maples are pretty adaptable trees. My soil is slightly acidic (6.8 pH), but I would just plant the tree and see what happens. It is very difficult to amend/change your soil to any degree unless you bring in huge loads of new soil. Since the tree will need to grow in the native soil when it gets larger, just plant where it is to grow and don't do any amending of the soil.
Good luck and let us know how the tree does over the next couple of years.
Mike
tl³
