Is this a JM seedling?

I found this little critter growing on the edge of my daylily seedling bed a couple of days ago. My husband was going to mow the lawn tonight, so I scooped it up and put it into a plastic pot.

Could this be a Japanese Maple seedling? The leaves are so odd on it...... There is a Bloodgood JM about a 1/4 mile as the crow flies up the street from my house, but I'm not aware of any others in the vicinity (but then again, I haven't looked very hard either.)

Or will this just be a regular Red Maple when it grows up?

Any ideas appreciated.

It doesn't look like a Japanese Maple but it would be worth letting it mature a little and seeing what happens.

Now that I've taken an interest in it, it will probably die. :-(

It just doesn't LOOK like a regular maple seedling to me.

i agree with doss to let it grow a bit. here are a couple pics of seeds from crimaon queen, bloodgoods, and viridis.

Well this day I knew would eventually happen ;>) I disagree with Doss and think it is a JM seedling ... it is a maple of some sort ... If it just arrived from nowhere Doss is probably correct and I am wrong ;>( but if JM's are near or especially right there above it then I must stay with my contrarian reputation and say it is a JM.although we were all fooled a while back on diagnosing a older jm leaf that turned out to be something totally differnt ...David

Well, I'll just keep it out on the back porch and hope it grows. If I don't kill it (HAHA!), I'll post pictures of it here when it gets a little bigger.

Good luck! I hope that it is a JM for you. That would be so much fun.

It very well could be a Maple. It has a odd leaf that resembles the likes of Hagoromo, Koshi mino, Momenshide and the picture of Jacus Potus pictured here.

Looks like a JM seedling to me also.
I had a bumper crop of seedlings this year.
I'm hoping to find one as fancy as Dave's, of course.
Alas, doesn't look like it will be this year.

You really can't tell with juvies they may surprise you with age if they make it ;>) ... often juvie charactistics are not they final say ... yes leaf form and shape will stay basically the same but color and tree style may develope differntly ... but as the saying goes it's a one in a million chance that you will get something truly differnt and exciting ... and as with all "gambling" the fewer chances you have the bigger the odds....theoretically . Most bigger nurseries have a gizzion seedlings to choose from if they want to go that way...but even then it takes years as dave will tell ya. and alas most "new" cultivars are not that truly unique except in one or two ways not the cats meow ... one reason i was so negative about the shabaz or what ever it was called ..David

david there is a "shabazz" in your future!

We shall see ... but not at those prices...you will know pretty quickly if it will become a staple ... it really comes down to how many the specialty nurseries have to relpace over the next few years .... and then how readily available it will be outside of those specialty nurseries which will tell ya if the prices will come down. As long as the originator can control output and placement they will be out of my price range ... I assume in 3-4 years it will be grafted by the "wildcatters" everyone whho grafts ;>) and prices should see a steep decline if ...and that is a big if ...it is truly a successful introduction..worthy of propagation by other grafgters who are not willing to pay roalties which can't be enforced anyway!! David

Now, now... it's 'Shirazz' (or 'Gwen's Rose Delight'). So far, it's been spectacular and very hardy, but pricey, for sure.

i was at the nursery i got mine at last night for something else and as always walked through the JM section. And Shabazz!! all the Shirazz were sold.

Actually, the price for 'Shirazz' this year has been within the normal range for many specialty JMs. The $300 cost for a 4' JM is pretty normal in this area, although on the high part of the range. Even a 4' 'Bloodgood' would be over $200 at most nurseries. Of course, that's nursery grade which is far better than the poor things usually found at the big box stores (not that they won't grow into nice plants with some TLC). Regardless, let's hope 'Shirazz' turns out to be a winner!

I certainly wouldn't disagree with that statement on specialty nurseries ...but they are the only ones who have it currently which was my point.Most are used by there own companies landscapers so selling product is to joan and joe martini usually just a plus and basically for wealthy folks ( thus the martini comment). Larger west coast mail oder nurseries such as greers and other do not have access or choose not to have such high price trees ... they have stuff that expensive but it's not a really small new intro ( 4 feet is NOT a very big tree .the stuff the have in that range are specimin trees MUCH older andd larger..Your 4 foot tree is big for ebay and undoubtably MUCH nicer than a lowes tree buty IMHO greatly overpriced but as i said if folks want to spend that much who am I to say that is too much...everyone has there own idea of what is overpriced ...sometimes it depends on their budget sometimes it depends on their priorities .... eg: a person may not think twice to pay 300-400$$ for the SHB tree but buys all his clothes at Kmatrt only when they are on sale ;>) David

Kmart is to pricey for me...I'll stick with the thrift stores :)

Not all specialty nurseries are charging outrageous prices for Shirazz--the place I got it had 5-6 foot trees for $200 originally, I picked it up on sale for $150, and later in the season it was down to $100 when they put all their maples on sale 50% off (wish I would have waited! LOL)

I wonder if California has such lower prices than those farther east since they are so much closer to both the Northwest and importers from New Zealand (where 'Shirazz' originated). I know the freight charges have shot through the roof for nurseries in the Midwest this year, of course affecting prices on shrubs and trees. (myersphcf- Specimen JMs are in a category of their of, for sure. My point was that the size range of available JMs at wholesale and retail nurseries is wide, and most "newer" or specialty varieties are usually in the 4'-5' range at first... nice stocky trees, not tall whips. Our local wholesale nurseries have some giant specimens priced in the thousands!)

i just heard from someone in PA that Shirazz was at 50% off as well. they haven't started those sales yet here in the NE where i am.

I have no idea why the nursery by me was having the sale when they were, maybe they wanted to ditch the JM's before summer heat came along and crisped them up! LOL

Well, after all the excitement, now comes the anti-climax.

It seems as though I am growing some kind of a sumac seedling, and NOT a Japanese Maple.

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/singlerecord.asp?id=430#

I have uploaded a picture of it.

The kicker is that I have become attached to the little guy and I hate to dump him, but I have no need for a sumac.

Bummer. I was hoping it would be a JM. I should have known it was too good to be true. :-(

Yah that is definitly NOT a JM ;>) actually looks a bit like poison ivy ... but sumac is likely what it is ...We have had the worst poison ivy outbreak around here this year with all the wet/cool spring weather it seem to like...... so that I see it everywhere and most often it is PI... In all my years around here i have NEVER seen it so many places and so thick. Sumac is not a bad plant ...very pretty fall color but most varieties run with roots that are not deep ...if planted in a yard where you can mow it is easy to contol but NOT advisable for wooded or perenial areas ... it does bust off easy but there can be alot of busting involved...if it grows too tall with it's shallow roots it will be uprooted by a strong wind if in wet soil damageeing anything around it ...I have some that grew close to 25 ft tall and landed in my pond TWICE after a storm . !! David

Sorry indashade!