Dan West Garden Center

May 2008 Newsletter©

Japanese Maples…

and some other cool plants.

     There are hundreds of varieties now on the market, so here at Dan West we offer some of the old “tried and true” varieties like Bloodgood and some newer and more unusual varieties as well.

We have dwarf varieties that only get 4’ tall to those that get 25’ feet tall and everything in between.  We offer green leaf, variegated leaf and red leaf types as well as weeping and lace leaf varieties.

     Most perform best in moist, but not wet, soil and protected from the hottest afternoon sun.  The red leaf varieties have better color in the sun but the foliage usually browns some by late summer when planted in full sun.  Six to eight hours of sun usually will give you both good summer and fall color.  Green leaf varieties can usually tolerate more sun and have by far the best fall color.Variegated and lace leaf types are best protected from late afternoon sun.

     Japanese maples should be planted slightly higher (about 2”) than your existing soil line.  Fertilize  your maple in March with a good quality fertilizer.  Pruning is usually only necessary to remove damaged wood or something in the way.  This type pruning can be done at anytime.  Should you need to severely prune it or thin it to be able to see through it , February and March would be best before it leafs out.

Here are some of the varieties currently in stock.

Acer palmatum cultivars…

Ao Kanzanshi  - Very narrow, vase shaped habit.  New leaves light green with cream variegation, turning darker in summer with retained variegation.  Orange gold fall color.

Atrolineare  -  Deep black red spring foliage, turns bronze in the summer heat and red again in fall.  Very narrow foliage, to 15’ tall.

Atropurpureum  - Beautiful crimson red foliage, to 25’ tall.  Broad spreading canopy.

Bloodgood  - One of the darkest reds, grows to 10’ in about 10 years, eventually to 20’.  Brighter red in fall.

Burgundy Lace  - Slow growing, 5’ in 8 to 10 years.  Finely serrated thread leaf variety with burgundy foliage turning crimson in the fall. To 15’, eventually.  Excellent choice for  large patio containers.

Butterfly  -  Bluish green leaves, edged in white and tinged pink in the Spring.  Protect from hot afternoon sun, to 12’.  Upright, somewhat weeping growth.

Crimson Queen  - The most popular of the thread leaf cascading varieties.  Dark purplish crimson foliage throughout the summer, with little scald. Slow, 4’ in 10 years,  Another good choice for containers

Emperor I- Deep purple red and retains it’s color better than Bloodgood and better than most red maples in the shade.  Crimson red fall color to 25’ tall

Everred  - New spring growth has a silvery appearance, cascading growth, very similar to Crimson Queen.

Garnet  - Garnet red thread leaf variety.  Slow growing to 6’.  Good container plant.  Not as dark as Crimson Queen but faster growth.

Goshiki Kotohime  - Small ruffled green leaves with tiny flecks of pink and cream.  To 4’, good container specimen.

Inaba Shidare  - Upright growth with weeping branches.  Red laceleaf variety, takes sun well.  Red in fall to 10’.

Nishiki Momiji -  A green leaf variety with smaller leaves but intense crimson and yellow fall color.  Upright growth to 15’.

Ogurayama  - Light yellow green foliage turning darker in the summer.  Matures to 8’, brilliant orange and maroon in the fall.  Good container plant. 

Oshio-Beni  - spreading canopy, new growth is orange red in spring maturing to deep red, to 25’.  Scarlet fall color, one of the best for full sun.

Osakazuki  - Large green leaves give this maple a bold appearance.  Probably the most vigorous of all Japanese Maples, and probably the most spectacular scarlet fall color.  Matures to 15’ tall.

Palmatum  -  Green foliage, moderately fast growth.  Fall color ranges from bronze to yellow to red to purple, to 25’.

Peaches and Cream  - New foliage is pink with cream centers. Reds change to green in the summer, turns yellow in the fall, to 15’.

Red Dragon  - Deep red laceleaf variety, resistant to scortch.  Very dwarf, good container specimen, to 6’ but probably less.

Sango Kaku  - The coral bark maple.  Yellowish green leaves, gold in autumn, beautiful coral stems. Upright broom shaped growth, to 20’.

Scolopendrifolium  -  Unusal long thin leaves that start out reddish orange in the spring, turning green in the summer and deep burnt orange in the fall.  Grows about a foot a year reaching 30’ eventually.

Seiryu  - Upright green lace leaf variety to 20’.  Does not weep.  Resists scalding, fall color yellow to red.

Select Red or Red Select  - Appears to be identical to and probably is another name for Inaba Shidare.

Shaina  - Compact sport of Bloodgood.  Two toned leaves, bright and darker red.  Slow growing, 5’ in 10 years.  Good bonsai plant.

Suminagashi  - Vigorous weeping form to 20’ tall.  Purple red spring foliage turns to maroon, then green and finally crimson in the fall.

Tamukeyama  - Dark red color which it retains through the summer well.  To 10’, slow growing.  Orange to red fall color.

Trompenburg  -  Good red leaved variety, retains summer color well, to 20’.

Ukigumo  - The “floating cloud” maple.  A variegated green and cream leaf, often with a little pink, to 12’.

Virides  - Green lace leaf variety  to 6’ tall with an 8’ spread.  Good container specimen, yellow fall color.

Waterfall  -  A green leaf weeping variety, to 8’ tall and 12’ wide. Good container specimen.

Acer japonicum cultivars…

Full Moon  - Excellent green leaf variety to 20’ but 15’ is more common.  Spectacular orange/yellow fall color.  Tolerates sun well.  Unusal, somewhat rounded foliage.

Aconitfolium  - “Dancing Peacock” maple.  Bright green foliage to 20’.  Brilliant fall color ranging from yellow to orange to red.

And...

For the month of May, Japanese maples are 33% off plus your VSF discount.

Some other cool stuff…

Philadelphus ‘White Sensation”  -  A new mockorange with unusal cup shaped double white spring flowers and reblooms in the summer with single white flowers.  Moist soil, sun to part shade.

Hypericum ‘Mystical’ series  -  Very heavy fruiting varieties of St, Johnswort, with either red, yellow, orange or black berries.  Likes full sun, evergreen to semi-evergreen, to 3’ tall.

“What do you get when you cross Ivy (Hedera) with a Fatsia (Aralia)…a Fatshedera.”

There really is such a plant, in fact, we have two types…a green leaf and a variegated leaf form. This is a good evergreen plant to espalier on a shady fence.  It does not cling like ivy so it has to be attached to wall where it can grow to 10’ or more.  As a shrub, it tends to be top heavv so some pruning may be needed, but it makes a nice tropical looking addition to the shade garden.  It’s evergreen to 20°, stem hardy to 10° and root hardy to near 0°.  By the way, it makes an excellent bright light houseplant just as Fatsia does.

Angel series hydrangeas  -  5 varieties with unique picotee flowers.  Pink, red, purple, blue all edged in white.

Hydrangea Lemon Daddy and Sun Goddess  - Two yellow leaved cultivars that stand out in the shade garden.

Hydrangea Vaughn’s Lillie -  A dwarf oakleaf hydrangea that only grows to 4’.

Dragon Lady Holly  -  A compact, pyramidal, dense holly with dark green foliage.  Grows to 10’ tall and 4’ wide, produces masses of bright red berries.

Milk and Wine Lily – Fragrant 6” white flower with a red stripe down the center of each petal.  Multiple flowers atop a 3’ stalk that bloom and rebloom in late summer.  Full sun.

Oxblood Lily  -  Spectacular multiple red flowers on a 15” stalk.  Full sun to part shade, any soil except soggy.  Often called the “schoolhouse lily” because it blooms in early September.

Finally, we are ahead for the year in rainfall.  Still feet behind where we should be, but better for this year.  If you needed as much water as most plants need, you’d have to drink 20 gallons a day.  It takes 350,000 gallons of water over 100 days to produce an acre of corn, about 120 gallons to produce a single pound of wood and about 5000 gallons to produce a Christmas tree.

“So how much do we get when it rains?”

One inch of rain over an acre is about 27,154 gallons.

Here’s some more info about water you don’t need to know…

97% of the water on earth is saltwater.  Of the remaining 3%, two thirds is locked up in the polar icecaps, leaving only 1% of the total in lakes, streams, groundwater and in living things.  Of that 1% available freshwater, one fifth is in the Great Lakes!

Anybody for a game of Trivial Pursuit?

What’s this plant? 

Here’s a hint:  It’s good for a wet location.  In fact, it will grow in up to 4’ of water.

Come by either store and enter to win.  Deadline for entry is 05/15/08.

One name will be drawn from all correct entries to receive a $50.00 Dan West Gift Certificate.