Ultimate Maple Smackdown!!!

[leatherback]

What makes a great variety for bonsai?

- Elegant, laced leaves
- Finely Fissured bark that develops at a young age
- Short internodes
- Naturally light twigs
- easy propagation
- strong growing

Acer palmatum 'leatherbark lace' [name pending] has all of this. As such, this is THE maple to use. None of the others even get close to this one, and I will not lower myself to trying to show why the others are worse.

 

[Gabler]

What makes a great variety for bonsai?

- Elegant, laced leaves
- Finely Fissured bark that develops at a young age
- Short internodes
- Naturally light twigs
- easy propagation
- strong growing

Acer palmatum 'leatherbark lace' [name pending] has all of this. As such, this is THE maple to use. None of the others even get close to this one, and I will not lower myself to trying to show why the others are worse.

Let's work on getting some cuttings into North America.

 

[leatherback]

What makes a great variety for bonsai?

- Elegant, laced leaves
- Finely Fissured bark that develops at a young age
- Short internodes
- Naturally light twigs
- easy propagation
- strong growing

Acer palmatum 'leatherbark lace' [name pending] has all of this. As such, this is THE maple to use. None of the others even get close to this one, and I will not lower myself to trying to show why the others are worse.

 

[leatherback]

seems like there is some intimidation. Come one Ladies and Gents, do not be concerned and post!

 

[Cadillactaste]

seems like there is some intimidation. Come one Ladies and Gents, do not be concerned and post!

End of the day for me...though, I do see pluses to what you say.

I'm contradictory. I want good bones to build on. I want character...that sucks me in to want to keep me there longer. Be it decayed trunks on deciduous for me...or scars. So there in lays my passion.

I say I don't want projects anymore. Then buy rough material that still has some quirk that attaches itself to me...like a leech.

A leech...that has a nasty scar... Yet... the possibilities...
Inspiration by Herve Dora

 

[Gabler]

It looks like there's a clear preference for Acer palmatum, but the preferred cultivars are more varied. Not surprisingly, the runner up is Acer buergerianum. This spring, however, I've found a nursery that will be selling Acer rubrum 'Autumn Flame', and it looks like it could outshine the Asian imports. Better color, better cold hardiness, and faster growth with similar internodes and leaf size.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Fair assumption.

Again, I have rarely based my purchase on a specific species/ cultivar. Looking more for character above all. Then if it can handle my wintering set up I go further into looking to add it.

Building character in my collection...was more in tune with how I chose to start from the gate. I wanted to have each tree significantly unique. In...so far I went for years. Refusing to own more than one of a particular species/cultivar.

I've only less than a handful of cultivars that broke my golden rule. Thanks for friends...forcing my hand. And being unable to decline.

I now own... multiple Japanese maple, elm, crepe myrtle, Asian jasmine...olive. is that all... no Chinese quince and flowering quince also broke my golden rule. But the extensive list of cultivars I do own. Is clearly over my golden rule for years.

 

[JudyB]

A better image of the color and striations on Snake bark maple.

 

[Gabler]

A better image of the color and striations on Snake bark maple.

View attachment 584706

Do you have any idea which species it is? I was looking into snakebark maples, and it turns out there's a bunch of them.

Snakebark maple - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JudyB]

Do you have any idea which species it is? I was looking into snakebark maples, and it turns out there's a bunch of them.

Snakebark maple - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

No idea. I bought it from someone who sold it to me as Amur maple.

 

[Gabler]

I'm going to guess it's one of the subspecies of Acer pectinatum, based on the pictures available. There's a large range of leaf shapes, but they seem to be mostly three-lobed and serrated.