Comments/opinions on a pricy gem ay a local Nursery

I recently checked on the Woods Creek Nursery website prior to a trip there (if the rain stops) . They have received more A. conspicuum 'phoenix' and still have several, though the $450 to $500 price makes me want to know more before considering the investment. Has anyone any experience or knowledge about this one ? It is a stunning tree from the photos I find on-line, but not much available on first hand growing.

There does'nt seem to be much information out there. It certainly is a beautiful tree.


http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/119923/

It's priced far less than that for a tall sapling in my area. I tried a seedling but lost it to some sort of disease, and most of the seedlings that my local nursery carried had the same problem. I didn't like the leaves much on the trees I saw when the leafed out, so I didn't pursue replacing it.

Laura

So far it looks like one I'll pass on. Might try another snakebark variety sometime though. So many beautiful trees and such a small yard.

I wasn't gonna post to this but I think you made a good decision it likely isn't readily available cause it is may not be that great of tree.. and that aint a chump change purchase yikes ...here are a few snake barks including the one you were interested in from greers .just a bit south of you so shipping should be ok.. at that price it might be worth considering...I also included the Grisium it is not a true JM as are not the others although some consider it in the ball park ...it is my favorite non JM period I think you could plant it in alaska on the tundra and it would grow and it has neat spring buds and leaves leaves nice fall color and all year round pealing brownish orange bark ...AAAA+ tree period

50371 Acer x conspicuum ‘Phoenix’ — 12'. (-10°F, USDA Zones 4-8). This interesting cross of A. pensylvanicum and A. davidii is a strong growing snake bark maple that dazzles in winter with its vivid ruby red shoots with thin white stripes. The shoots and branches are showy in summer dressed in salmon pink with the 3-lobed apple green leaves and even showier after the golden yellow leaves of fall drop and expose the coral branches striped white. 1-2' $49.95, 3-4' $75.95

NEW 51048 Acer x conspicuum ‘Silver Vein’ — 16'. A hybrid between A. davidii ‘George Forrest’ and A. pensylvanicum ‘Erythrocladum’ found at Hilliers about 1960. Some feel it is the best of the snakebarks with its and good color and its rich purple and white striped winter bark. In fall the leaves turn a rich butter yellow. 2-3' $24.95

50003 Acer davidii - David’s Maple — 30'. (-20°F, USDA Zones 5-8). Silvery white stripes on smooth green bark make this tree particularly striking in winter. While the mature leaves are unlobed, oblong and usually thicker at the base, the juvenile foliage and leaves on young trees will be slightly to fully 3 lobed. Leaves turn yellow and red-orange in the fall. In spring, clusters of yellow flowers hang from the branches, followed by samaras of soft green and pink. 1-2' $14.95 , 2-3' $24.95

50005 Acer griseum - Paper Bark Maple — 30'. (-30°F, USDA Zones 4-8). Strips of cinnamon and irregular colored bark peel away from the trunk, exposing a smooth copper bark beneath on this sometimes multistemmed slender, upright tree. Curls of peeling bark remain attached, creating a richly textured appearance, especially showy in winter. Famous for its spectacular fall color, a melange of yellow, orange and red, lasting longer than most. It can be slow to show its shape but worth it! #1 $27.95, 4-5' $79.95, 5-6' $89.95

The colored and peeling bark of the Madrone has always appealed to me so trying a griseum might fill the bill, along with a 'silver vein'. I have ordered from Greer's before and have found them to be the best of several excellent mail order places. A side feature I liked about the phoenix was the "mature size" for our small urban lot. By the time the griseum reached even close to 30 feet my bones will have turned to dust. Thank you, I really appreciate the information.

yes greers is a great place I have bought alot from them...but ...I bought nine from Whitmans also out your way ...she has field grown ones 4-5 feet ...mine was very sturdy and nice caliper and nicely branched...I think it was $105 + shipping... when I first got it last spring it had NO pealing bark but by end of summer and fall it started now it is really cool ...BTW the spring buds are unusual...fuzzy not like pussy willows but uin that vein... it leafs out the latest of any maple I have seen even after the sugar maples at least here. David

Well I spent my allowance today and then some. lol Stopped by a local nursery and picked up a rather nice griseum for $80.00. They also had a hogyoku in the same price range. Will have to keep looking for the capillipes, higasayama and especially the okushimo. Also it is beginning to look like some other plants might have to vacate to make room for the JM's. Boy! not getting one 'phoenix' leaves an opportunity to get several other varieties for fewer bucks.

Looks like a nice tree and a good deal I keep forgetting you are in pretty big JM area there no need to mail order for you. David

Just got a reply from Wells Nursery up in Mt. Vernon that they have the above noted, or most of them. Nice thing about Wells is their selection of young grafts and seedlings. Neat place.

How big are the trees? What size of pot? Checked around on google and couldnt find prices on them really anywhere, except for in a 1 gal pot for $40.00. We got some huge crimson queens and viridis j. maples in these huge cedar boxes one year at the nursery I use to work at. We were charging I think around $450- $500. They were very large though. I have never heard of the type of maple you are searching for, it must be rare??. It looked interesting, I did see some photos of what they look like- great fall color I presume?

I like the Griseum. Here in the Gaithersburg/Rockville area of Maryland there is a shopping center called the Rio. Outside near an outdoor parking garage by the Pier One Imports there are several of these planted - about 12-15 ft right now. I don't think they are more than 5 years planted, but I'm not sure because I only walked past them this spring - St Patrick's Day. It seemed odd to me that they had seeds still hanging on them at the end of the winter. (I picked half a dozen but they have yet to produce any seedlings.)

If you have the space, and want a real colorful treat, check out the Eskimo Sunset. It is a cultivar of the Sycamore Maple. I understand they get real big. But their foliage is magnificent. I just have to see how it does in the heat of the summer.

You can check my garden blog. There is a pic of it there. Just a year-old graft. But man, it is growing like crazy since it started leafing out.

Here's a second pic of it - not quite as good as the one in the blog, but you can see how pretty it is.

Oh, my! Beautiful! Dotti

The picture doesn't really do it justice.

I hear they may reach 30-40 feet or so. It is growing like a weed. If you think that picture is nice, check this one out.

And, where are you finding these treasures?

I look on eBay.

Be forewarned that many of the trees on eBay (I search for "Japanese Maple" usually as a starting point under Home & Garden) are fairly new grafts. From what I'm seeing of the failures I've purchased, grafts fail. From what others have told me and I'm starting to to experience, overwatering is a killer.

I am pretty sure that I only saw Eskimo Sunset from one seller. (That is also a good search - Eskimo Sunset.) It took about 5 tries before I won an auction. They start at (I think) $9.95 plus $7.50 shipping. They were selling for something up in the $30's when I started looking at them for a one year graft. I wasn't willing to pay that much. I eventually set a maximum dollar value I would go for - somewhere under $20, and ended up getting it cheap. But I had to wait for a few others to be sold to others willing to pay more.

It is very obvious to me that I haven't looked at eBay thoroughly enough. I do look at the trees and have bought a couple through them, but I hadn't even noticed the name "Eskimo Sunset". I will be checking later this evening. Thanks for the information. I wish you the best with your new baby. Dotti