The Multiplicity of Japanese Maples
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The multiplicity of Japanese maples BY ELIZABETH PETERSEN ‘Bloodgood’ ‘Tsuma Gaki’ ‘Hime Shojo’ PHOTO COURTESY OF DON SCHMIDT NURSERY PHOTO COURTESY OF RARE TREE NURSERY PHOTO COURTESY OF DON SCHMIDT NURSERY ‘Sherwood Flame’ ‘Twombly’s Red Sentinel’ ‘Kolta Noto’ PHOTO COURTESY OF ISELI NURSERY PHOTO COURTESY OF ISELI NURSERY PHOTO COURTESY OF DON SCHMIDT NURSERY REGON GROWERS produce species with similar characteristics and advantage is so great that even with costs more deciduous shade trees than landscape uses, all considered to be for shipping, Oregon growers can produce any other state in the country, Japanese maples in a broader sense, pushed higher quality trees at a lower cost. Oaccording to the 2012 USDA Census of the numbers even higher. But it is the extraordinary and diverse Horticulture. In that extensive category of What accounts for the popularity of beauty of Japanese maples that drives trees, Japanese maples are Oregon’s top these trees and for Oregon’s unique ability demand. These trees, which include several selling type of tree. to grow them so well? The answers are at species of maples native to Japan, China In fact, the Oregon crop of Acer once simple and complex. and Korea, offer an unparalleled range of palmatum was valued at $26.2 million, For starters, Oregon provides the ideal graceful, elegant forms and habits, textures which represented 54 percent of the climate for experienced growers to produce and colors. national market. In addition, other Acer bigger trees faster. Oregon’s climate The size, shape and growth rate DIGGERMAGAZINE.COM AUGUST 2017 11 Japanese maples can be fairly small, rounded and slow, or and large: up to 18 inches/year), by leaf they can be fairly large, upright, broad type (strap-leaf, laceleaf and broad leaf) and and fast, developing into single or multi- by type/species. stemmed trees as well as weeping and even The option of colorful twigs adds more columnar forms. potential for splash in the landscape, too. Hundreds of available cultivars offer Side-by-side pictures on the website diverse leaf shapes and arrangements that provide a useful comparison of leaf size lend a variety of textures and striking and shape, displaying leaves from 44 Acer spring, summer and fall colors to virtually palmatum cultivars, 10 A. japonicum every landscape design. cultivars and 13 A. shirasawanum selections. “Whatever size or color you want, In addition to those, other Acer there’s an option,” said designer Brent species that qualify as Japanese maples Markus, owner of Rare Tree Nursery and include pseudosieboldianum, sieboldianum Conifer Kingdom in Silverton, Oregon. and pseudoplatanus. Although Japanese maples don’t work All shapes and sizes well in areas of extreme cold or heat, they On Conifer Kingdom’s website are widely used in large swaths of the (www.coniferkingdom.com), users can country, in climates as diverse as Dallas look for trees by color (red, purple and and Chicago. burgundy, green, multi-colored and yellow), According to Eric Schmidt, fourth- by growth rate (dwarf: less than 6 inches/ ‘Pixie’ generation owner of Don Schmidt Nursery PHOTO COURTESY OF DON SCHMIDT NURSERY year; intermediate: less than 12 inches/year; in Boring, Oregon, the biggest challenge SPRAYERS High clearance and width adjustability is customizable for your crop GREENHOUSES H7 TREE DIGGER COMFORT STATIONS TRACKING TRAILERS GK’s pre-drilled system will Digs trees, chopper/topper, Meets all OSHA Standard or custom save you time and money row planter and bed lifter sanitation requirements trailers available Call for a friendly quote! 503-678-5525 10590 Donald Road NE · Donald, Oregon 97020 WWW.GKMACHINE.COM 12 AUGUST 2017 DIGGERMAGAZINE.COM to hardiness for A. palmatum is a sudden and long-lasting color. Emperor I (aka “Red freeze. “Trees can be grown safely in USDA Emperor” or A. p. ‘Wolff’) is similar to Zone 6 and in microclimates found in ‘Bloodgood’ but leafs out a couple weeks colder areas,” he said. “It all depends on later, which makes it less prone to late how abruptly the weather goes cold. If trees spring freezes. are able to go dormant gradually, they can take Zone 5 winters.” Defining niche markets Although the bulk of the Japanese “Business is strong,” Markus said. maple market in the U.S. consists of the “Demand has been constant, but the laceleaf types, four cultivars claim the supply has not.” lion’s share, according to Markus. The As a result, Markus sees an listings in the OAN Nursery Guide reflect opportunity for small and medium- that: ‘Crimson Queen’ lists 52 growers, size nurseries to increase their level of ‘Inabe shidare’ 27 growers, ‘Tamukeyama’ production, especially with newer varieties. 46 growers, and the slightly more dwarf, However, the popularity and ease of slower-growing ‘Red Dragon’ 46 growers. producing Japanese maples contributes Red uprights enjoy a large market to their overproduction. Following the share, too, especially ‘Bloodgood’ and economic crash in 2008, many growers Emperor I®. Best-known of the red upright in the industry were forced to destroy Japanese maples and widely spec’d, hundreds of thousands of Japanese maples. ‘Bloodgood’ stands out as the household ‘Sango Kaku’ “Don’t make the same mistake again,” PHOTO COURTESY OF CONIFER KINGDOM variety for its good hardiness, reliability said Sandy Dittmar of Iseli Nursery, HEART HE OF T T N H I E N W O Now part of the Skagit Horticulture R G family of brands! LAMETTE WILVALLEY Proudly serving garden centers and landscapers for over 50 years. Annuals • Perennials C OUTSTANDING VALUE Grasses • Ground Covers M EXPANDED Sedum Tiles • Edibles Y ORNAMENTAL OFFERINGS CM IMPECCABLE SERVICE We offer a wide variety of beautiful retail and landscape-ready plants, as MY From Acers to Zelkova, and many varieties in between, we specialize in understock well as Skagit Horticulture liners CY for flowering, fruiting and shade. for growers. CMY Our customers come to us for our quality rootstock. They come back for our service K Pre-pricing and custom growing and attention-to-detail. options are available. See our website for all of our offerings. Timely deliveries throughout the western US and Canada. Come see us at the Farwest Show, Canby, Oregon booth 17050! www.WillametteNurseries.com Skagit Gardens, Inc. • Mount Vernon, Washington 503-263-6405 Toll Free 800-852-2018 Phone: 800-334-1719 • Fax: 800-874-1456 [email protected] [email protected] • www.skagitgardens.com DIGGERMAGAZINE.COM AUGUST 2017 13 Japanese maples a wholesale grower in Boring, Oregon. shorter, stockier shapes and sturdy root “Demand for Japanese maples is just systems on a 6–10-year growth cycle. They beginning to creep back.” are also hand-dug to accurately match Nurseries that fared better following the rootball to individual tree. crash benefitted from offering more unusual The nursery also utilizes dryland selections, sizes and cultural techniques, farming methods to grow trees naturally Schmidt said. Don Schmidt Nursery, for without supplemental watering. Doing so instance, has about 350 cultivars of Japanese produces tough trees with well-developed maple in major production. roots that are able to withstand higher “The unique cultivars helped sell the levels of environmental stress and drought, more common ones during the downturn,” Schmidt said. Schmidt said. Like many nurseries, though, Dryland farming techniques are not Schmidt sells more ‘Bloodgood’ and new. The nursery has been growing that Emperor I than any other Japanese maple. way since its founding in 1939, before Still, to guarantee a niche in the market, widespread irrigation. But, the methods are growers look for ways to distinguish newly relevant, as water has become a more themselves among the competition. costly and scarce commodity. For Don Schmidt Nursery, that means The nursery plants about 20,000 selling bigger sizes of field-grown trees, new liners each year in the fall, when from 1-inch caliper to much bigger, mature rains reliably provide the necessary water. specimen trees, all sold B&B. Trees are ‘Shishigashira’ During the growing season, fields are PHOTO BY ROB WHITWORTH hand-weeded and hand-trimmed to produce cultivated by disc about every eight to 10 14 AUGUST 2017 DIGGERMAGAZINE.COM days, to pull up moisture from lower levels summer color better than other laceleafs, so roots can access it. has a “horrible name,” he said. Over the generations, the only thing Grown by plenty of nurseries, that has changed in the method is the power ‘Tamukeyama’ may be a great tree, but for source, Schmidt said, from horses to tractors. the average end consumer, its name is a Bizon Nursery, a wholesale grower stumbling block. A new laceleaf from The in Hubbard, Oregon, that supplies retail- Netherlands called ‘Firecracker’ also grows ready and B&B Japanese maples to garden vigorously and holds its color well, and Bizon centers and re-wholesalers throughout the predicts it will become a standard production U.S. and Canada, bases about 85 percent plant with a much more accessible name. of its production upfront on demand from Bizon gives garden centers an easy, customers, said B&B Manager Eric Bizon. convenient way to easily bring a more That means they grow a lot of diverse assortment of trees to their ‘Bloodgood’ and sell thousands in sizes from customers. “Accent Packages” combine 3-gallon to 10-foot B&B. “People like red assortments of less-familiar varieties of uprights, and ‘Bloodgood’ is well known and Japanese maple in 3-gallon containers in a frequently spec’d on jobs,” Bizon said. range of colors, forms and growth habits. One challenge associated with some Kinen’s Big & Phat Special Plants, a great Japanese maples is the difficulty of specialty grower in Boring, Oregon, has the cultivar names, Bizon pointed out.