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Thursday, October 23, 2008
Start a blaze of glory
DECIDING WHETHER to plant a tree or a shrub can be confusing.
Some shrubs grow huge, and many trees reach only to very respectable proportions after many years. There are trees that, when fully mature are still no larger than many shrubs. Varieties of Japanese maple for example, grow to only nine or ten feet in a lifetime and these are wonderful when properly sited and attended to.
Be assured that all Japanese maples make exceptional garden specimens, and no variety will be found less than good.
Like women of quality they'll need warmth and (ideally) overhead shelter (in the form of larger trees) plus a place away from cold winds and biting frosts. Acid soil they'll insist upon above all else, so dig in plenty of leaf mould, pine needles, peat or old potting compost. Given all these, they'll put on their finery for you in every month and delight you in autumn when they change their outfits.
Those with the best autumnal attributes and colouring will of course command the highest prices, and it would not be unusual to be asked up to €200 or more for a pot-grown plant a few years old and nicely established. Most garden centres however will be able to supply strong, shapely plants at very much under this price.
Most gardeners look to those varieties which have red leaves just before they fall. I cannot blame them for that for they do look striking. Red leaves, on whatever maple you choose, are always enhanced by flashes of yellow, and one of the best exotic maples for introducing this colour is Acer palmatum 'Senkaki' which now has the correct but less manageable name of 'Sango-Kaku'. It is bought primarily for the beautiful pinkish colouring of its younger stems, but is worth planting also for its wonderful golden autumnal foliage.
An even richer colouring distinguishes Acer japonicum 'October Glory' which arouses cries of admiration wherever it is seen living up to its name. Some large nurseries have to limit this variety such is the demand, and prospective customers can be asked to wait from one season to another, until fresh stocks again become available.
Another excellent variety for shape, colour and form is Acer palmatum dissectum with 'Atropurpureum' tacked on to denote the purplish bronze tint to the leaves throughout the growing season. This variety may be an awkward bundle to pronounce and to place (in under larger trees for preference) but as the days shorten, its attractive summer colouring fades, and the leaves turn a brilliant copper-red. Strangely, the green-leaved parent, often denoted by the addition of 'viridis', exchanges its freshness for an even brighter red in autumn.
The finery of maples may be brief in some years. However, a rogue season should not put you off planting them for their true effect. In most years, they can be dazzling, even when grown singly or better still in matching pairs or in pots.
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