Waterfall

Waterfall in spring 2012

Waterfall(pictured above) is a dwarf dissectum (weeping) japanese maple cultivar. This particular tree is around 14 years old and I think I put this in ground in 2005. I bought that at Fred Meyers in Tualatin, OR in 2002 for $5 (end of season clearance, 1 Gallon) and moved it with me to PA in 2004. It was in a pot till 2005. Its around 3 ft tall and I do prune it rather heavily in spring to get rid of the branches touching the ground. Unless this is pruned, the trunk isn't visible. It takes pruning well. It also has a reasonable July spurt. I have this at the entry of the house along with Viridis (shown below). Both trees are similar in nature. I think if you graft Waterfall at a good height it will be similar to Viridis. It could be age but I have noticed that Waterfall tends to have branches go up before drooping down, giving it more depth. Also, it does want to grow horizontally as well. I try to keep it around 6 ft wide. This tree gets around 2-3 hours of sun till mid summer and then its in shade and is doing well from color and leaf perspective. This cultivar is supposed to do well in full sun as well.

Waterfall and Viridis (right), Spring 2012

Waterfall, Spring 2012

Waterfall leafing out (Spring 2012).

Here is the tree from previous years showing growth:

Waterfall (2003)

Waterfall (2006)

Waterfall (Spring 2008)

Waterfall (Spring 2008) and other maples

Waterfall (Spring 2009)

Waterfall (Spring 2009), after pruning

Waterfall (Spring 2009)

Waterfall (Fall 2009)

Waterfall (Spring 2010)

Waterfall (Spring 2011)

Waterfall (2011)

Hostas

Here are some hostas which I have in my yard. All from Spring 2012:

Sum and Substance

Sum and Substance

Sum and Substance

Sum and Substance

Tom Schmidt

Wide Brim

Halcyon

Tom Schmidt

Francis Williams (also in pot) and 2 year Full Moon maple(pot)

Honeybells, Halcyon and ??

Ligularia Desdemona, Francee and Wide Brim hostas

Ukigumo

Ukigumo leafing out (Spring 2012)

Ukigumo(floating cloud maple) as pictured above, is a variegated Japanese maple. This particular tree is growing in partial shade and is around 12 years old. Its been in ground since 2006. I prune it annually to keep it around 6 to 7 ft tall. Its around 4 ft wide. I purchased this as a two (or 3) year graft at Hardy Plant sale at Hillsboro, OR in spring 2002 for $20. It was leafing out and it looked good. I moved this to PA in 2004 by shipping it bare root from OR where I had already planted this in ground. Once its established, it has very good growth rate (between 1 to 2 ft/year; I never fertilize maples) and I prune it heavily as needed (spring and summer). 

Overall, I found this tree to be kind of disappointing after early spring. I always think of chopping it down after all of leaves revert to dull green in couple of weeks after opening. I work in New York City and I have noticed this tree(15-20 years old, in shade) in some homes there. I observed same thing: leaves were all dull light green with a very small number of leaves showing variegation. This year I noticed that around 50% of leaves are variegated even after 6 weeks. I have read some accounts on the net that sometimes it takes years for leaves to stay variegated thru the season. Besides leaves, this tree has good bark as well as shown above.

I have seen this tree as listed as dwarf(meaning height is 8 ft or less) which I have found to be not true. Specimens I have seen are larger, easily 12-14 ft or more. If I don't prune, this tree will be 10ft easily. At the very least, this is a semi-dwarf Acer Palmatum.

Ukigumo, night shot (early spring 2012)

I planted an Inaba Shidare next to it, in case I decide to remove this tree(which I really doubt), I will have something to fill the void. Even if I dont remove it, they will look fine together with Inaba Shidare adding interest.

Inaba Shidare and Ukigumo(spring 2012)