Tsuchigumo

Tsuchigumo (Spring 2012)

Tsuchigumo, pictured above, is a semi-dwarf small leaf green upright Japanese maple. This tree was acquired in the annual spring Hardly Plant sale in 2002 at Hillsboro, OR. It was a 1 year graft in 4" pot($7) and it moved with me to PA in 2004(I fed-exd a box full of small bare-root maples and bunch of clematis in early spring of 2004).

I had to transplant it few times as I couldn't decide where it should go. It gets 3-4 hours of afternoon sun till mid summer and then its all shade. This variety seems comfortable in shade or sun. I probably should have planted this in full sun. Its growth rate is good. When I finally planted it at this location in 2007, it was around 3-4 ft tall but didnt have any major branches. It grew very well in couple of years. I observed that this variety does well in ground than being in a pot. Currently its around 8 ft tall and 4 ft wide. I will be pruning this shortly to give a more fuller look. This spring we had frost after most maples had leafed out. This tree didn't suffer any damage while other trees around it did show some damage.
 
Here is a shot from the other side with companion maples/plants. Ao Kanzashi (hidden in this shot by Tsuchigumo) is the last tree on the left.

Krossa Regal hosta(Left), Virdis, Tsuchigumo, Sango Kaku, Waterfall (Right) Spring 2012

Tsuchigumo Leaves (mid-spring)