Beni Shidare 5/11/08

Here's another of the variegated dissectums. Beni Shidare appears to have a more subtle variegation than Toyama Nishiki and Hana Matoi, at least in my garden.

Toyama Nishiki 5/11/08

There aren't that many variegated dissectums, but I've got them all. Toyama Nishiki is delicate, has a beautiful shape, and never disappoints.

Rugose 5/9/08

Rugose has been described by Vertrees/Gregory as being an ugly duckling that finally turns into a beautiful princess the the autumn. Here it is in its ugly duckling phase. It is rather unusual, I think.

Baldsmith 5/3/08

Last year (2007) this cultivar looked simply awful and I thought it would die. But extensive pruning and some good fertilizer seems to have done the trick because it looks lovely this year. I see close similarities between Baldsmith and Watnong.

Amber Ghost 5/5/08

One of the good looking ghosts, I sometimes have a hard time telling the ghosts apart.

Alpenweiss 4/26/08

Similar to Higasa Yama, Alpenweiss has great spring foliage.

Skeeter's Broom 5/5/08

This is a pretty plant, dense like all brooms and exhibiting the truncated middle lobe characteristic of the brooms

Shishigashira 11/11/07

Truly a "Japanese" looking tree, Shishigashira is a star and a great focal point in any Japanese garden.

Sagara Nishiki 4/18/08

Sagara Nishiki is a favorite of mine because in mid-spring it develops rugose patterns on green and yellow leaves. In early spring is has a blush of pink that's quite lovely. I'm told that this cultivar is very similar to Nishiki Gasane, a cultivar I hope to obtain this year.

Wilson's Pink Dwarf 4/5/07

Always one of the best pink harbingers of spring, Wilson's pink dwarf is special. Wonderful pink leaves with gorgeous contrasting veins are most unusual. I do wonder if the term "dwarf" is applicable, however, since my tree is at about 6 feet now.

Baldsmith 5/3/08

This is a gorgeous plant that looked absolutely awful last year, went through extensive pruning, and VOILA this year it's looking fine. Go figure.

Autumn Moon 5/3/08

Always beautiful in the spring garden, Autumn Moon unfurls its leaves like little pale orange lanterns and then creates leaves of an unusual soft yellow with orange highlights. It's a beautiful tree.

Hippy Fin Mo 5/3/08

I've always felt this plant was a large version of Kurui Jishi, but no matter. It's an interesting plant.

Moon Rise 5/2/08

This is a dramatic large-leafed maple with good color throughout the year.

Fjellheim 5/3/08

This cultivar has sensational bright red stems and great leaf color as well, so it's interesting all year long.

Komachi Hime 4/26/08

This is a marvelous little shrub with great spring and autumn color. I think it's often overlooked, and that's a crime.

Ueno Homare 5/2/08

Ueno Homare is one of the greatest spring "true yellow" Japanese maples. It has a beautiful dignified and graceful growing habit and is a fabulous tree. In the autumn, all colors come out: yellow, gold, red, green and purple. It's a sensational addition to the garden.

Hana Matoi 4/23/08

There aren't that many variegated dissectums (what a shame that Toyama Nishiki, Beni Shidare and Goshiki Shidare make up this small group), but this is one that is also special. It's apparently a child of Toyama Nishiki, not a bad parent to have.

Emerald Lace 10/17/07

This attractive dissectum is known for its darker green color in summer, later turning bright red in fall.

N C Red 10/17/07

North Carolina (Green Thumb) Red is not listed in any of the literature, but it's got great color in spring and fall.

Brocade 10/17/07

Brocade is a dissectum with a cascading shape, and its color is more subtle than most. Throughout its growing season, the colors are muted greens and reds with a little grey.

Beni Kawa 10/17/07

Beni Kawa is mostly known for its colorful red stems in the winter, even better color than Sango Kaku. Leaf color is green in spring and summer, but turns a lovely yellow-gold in autumn.

Palmatifolium 10/17/07

This is a Japonicum, and therefore has sensational fall colors, usually reds, golds and yellows.

Beni Tsukasa 10/17/07

The color possibilities with Beni Tsukasa are endless. Mine leafs out in spring with a shrimp/peach color with some pale yellow; in summer it turns pink and red with some green; and in fall nearly anything can happen, though this last year it decided to go yellow.

Waterfall 10/17/07

This beautiful cascading dissectum is almost an icon in Japanese maple gardens because of its mushroom shape. It leafs out in spring with a light fresh green that it maintains through summer, going gold in the fall sometimes with a tint of pink or red.

Octopus 10/17/07

Like its name suggests, Octopus tends to grow horizontally. This cultivar has great color all year: pinkish-red in spring, orangish-red with overlays of green in summer, and bright red in the fall.

Van der Akker 10/17/07

There's virtually nothing written about this cultivar in the literature. However, it's a delicate dissectum with stunning fall colors. I've seen the name spelled in a variety of ways, but this is how Vertrees/Gregory spell it.

Heptalobum Rubrum 10/17/07

Vertrees/Gregory say this is an old Dutch cultivar. Though I enjoyed it in spring and summer, I wasn't prepared for the fabulous fall yellow/red colors which I think are brilliant.

Shaina 10/17/07

Shaina is colorful throughout the growing season going from red to reddish-purple to crimson. The middle lobe is often rounded, a characteristic seen also on Aratama and Elizabeth, so one can suppose they are all witches' brooms.

Aka Kawa Hime 10/17/07

Aka Kawa Hime is a semi-dwarf form of Sangu Kaku and is grown to some degree for its red stems. In spring it's yellow-green, and in fall one sees gold, red and yellow colors.

Lutescens 10/17/07

From the Amoenum group, Lutescens has lovely color: fresh yellow-green in spring, vivid green in summer, and in fall anywhere from red to gold to yellow. A handsome cultivar.

Pendulum Julian 10/17/07

As the name suggests, this is a pendulous grower that leafs out in the spring bronze-green, going dark purple-red in summer. This photo shows the changing of fall color to an intense crimson-orange.

Red Dawn 10/17/07

Red Dawn is a shirasawanum and is new to my garden. But you can see from the fall colors that it shows the typically intense hues of that group.

Elegans 10/17/07

From the Matsumurae group, Elegans grows usually as wide as it is tall. Pale yellow/green in spring, green in summer, and orange/red in the fall.

Novum 10/17/07

Gorgeous colors on this maple: light purple in spring, orange and green in summer, and vivid red in autumn. Can't ask for better than that.

Asahi Zuru 10/17/07

This remarkable tree is gorgeous and truly interesting throughout the growing seasons. Every garden should have at least one.

Umegae 10/17/07

A large-leafed and intensely-colored palmatum, this is a scene-stealer.

Fairy Lights 10/17/07

Fairy Lights is a Japonicum, here showing the distinctive kaleidoscopic colors typical of most japonicums. Sometimes it even shows purple coloration.

Dad's Best 10/17/07

Dad's Best is a lovely dissectum from Del Loucks. It has strawberry tones in spring and autumn, really a great-looking cultivar.

Raraflora 10/17/07

Gorgeous red color in the fall. Raraflora is supposed to be pale orange to shrimp pink in the spring, but this plant has failed to provide those colors so far.

Sensu 10/17/07

Sensu is one of my favorites. It has an elegant shape and gorgeous colors with no negatives.

Kin Shi 10/17/07

This linearilobum is a handsome plant, though its autumn colors are not as brilliant as koto no ito. Still, it's graceful long lobes add drama.

Nuresagi 10/17/07

Nuresagi has outstanding purples and reds throughout the year. It's an exotic-looking tree.

Mezo ho Beni 10/17/07

This tree has sensational colors throughout its growing period. In the spring it's shrimp colored with pink, and full of reds in the autumn.

Fairy Hair 10/17/07

This frizzy little tree has lobes so thin that one is reminded of hair or filaments. Though it looks very delicate, it's not; and it has good spring and fall color.

Kurui Jishi 10/17/07

Kurui Jishi is a small upright cultivar known mostly for the curling of each lobe. Often overlooked is its fall color, which is quite handsome.