Baldsmith 4/13/07

This Baldsmith grows at an oblique angle and hangs over our seasonal stream. Usually during late May, some of the leaves will turn brilliant red, providing even more drama to a dramatic cultivar.

Rilas Red 4/10/07

From ten feet away, Rilas Red looks something like dark red cotton candy on a tree's stem. The tiny filaments which make up the leaves' lobes are so tiny that they seem like spider webs or the tiny fibers used in optics. A wonderfully busy little tree.

Fairy Hair 4/8/07

The leaves of Fairy Hair are exceedingly thin filaments, almost like corn silks. One has to get close to appreciate the plant, which is difficult to photograph.

Akaji Nishiki 4/6/07

Akaji Nishiki (also known as Bonfire) is the source of some disagreement in the maple community. Some feel the tree does not exist as a separate plant, but here it is, different from all the rest.

Beni Komachi 4/10/07

The name means "beautiful red-haired little girl" and this is a charming plant. This is the first maple I purchased, the one that got me obsessed with Japanese maples.

Corallinum 4/10/07

It's almost impossible to describe the gorgeous spring colors of Corallinum.

Ueno Homare 4/8/07

Ueno Homare provides the truest yellow in my spring garden, better than Ueno Yama, Katsura or Calico (which have orange tones). It's especially attractive with dark evergreens in the background.

Walley's #2 4/8/07

Walley's #2 is a big purple tree, and it's just now leafing out.

Wilson's Pink Dwarf 4/8/07

Wilson's Pink Dwarf never fails to satisfy. It's spring color is just the best, intense pink leaves with yellow veins, and the color lasts for at least a month.

Hana Matoi 4/8/07

OK, this is a dinky photo, and I know it. But Hana Matoi is really, really rare, and I couldn't wait to submit a photo of it even in its proto-leaf phase. I'm hoping it will leaf out variegated in purple and pink, and this shows (if you enlarge the photo) it might just do that. I'm excited about this plant.

Rilas Red 4/6/07

This charming fuzz ball was introduced by Del Loucks. Rilas Red is an elegant and tidy little tree which is extremely difficult to photograph due to its having lobes far thinner than a human hair. I was simply lucky on this occasion to capture a leaf.

Samurai Sword 4/6/07

Samurai Sword, also called Samarzam, is a red upright which grows to 20' or so. It has red fall color and it's new to my garden, so I'll post its progress.

Ao Kanzashi 4/2/07

Ao Kanzashi's spring leaves are a very pale green, a fresh color that stands out in the garden. It's a very tidy plant, holding its leaves close to stems and branches so even when leafed out one can still clearly make out the structure of the cultivar.

Kotohime 4/2/07

Kotohime is one of my favorites. It leafs out early (by mid-March) in rich rust/brown/red/orange colors and then gradually lightens to its current terra cotta color in early April. It turns green for summer and then in the autumn is pale yellow/orange. It's very short petioles give the plant a congested and bunched up appearance which is charming given it's tiny leaves.

Kin Shi 4/2/07

This semi-dwarf compact linearilobum has lovely light yellowish-green spring color and turns orange/yellow/gold in the autumn.

Komachi Hime 4/3/07

This is my first spring with this cultivar in my garden, so I really don't have much information (nor expectations) about it. However, it leafed out rather early and adds some intense color to its part of my garden.

Shin de Shojo 4/3/07

Each spring we try to decide which cultivar is producing the best red color, and though we never come up with a clear winner, Shin de Shojo is certainly always in the top three. The vividness and intensity of the red leaves is almost alarming. It goes red and orange in the fall, but I think it shows its colors best in the spring.

Naruto (buergerianum) 4/3/07

This is an interesting cultivar. The photo shows it just leafing out in shiny bronze tones. Very soon the leaves will turn green and the edges will curl inward, a habit that is disturbing to those not familiar with Naruto. More than once I've been asked what's wrong with it!

Winter Flame 4/3/07

Winter Flame has much in common with Sango Kaku except that this is a dwarf which is more compact and denser in its growth.

Ueno Yama 4/3/07

What a lovely spring maple. Always a light yellow as it leafs out, and it holds its color for many weeks.