Mines the same way this year, including my Orangeola. I'm worried because all my others have leafed out. Small scratch on branch reveals green and the tips are bendable. We had a very late frost with snow and freezing rain. My Yoshinos didn't bloom for the first time in 20 years. I'm hoping for warmth and sunshine to make the japs pop. Anyone else having the same problem? Terri

mine is in a tough spot pretty open-the sango seem more delicate than the bloodgoods (which have all started blooming big-time) bark on the sango seems a little dark-almost blackish on some spots- not sure if that has anything to do with it though.
thetman

You're in a VERY marginal zone for Sango Kaku! It is notorious for winter die-back, and even in my Zone 7 garden it regularly loses significant branches every year. You may want to try some of the hardier Japanese Maple varieties, like the Acer japonicum cultivars, that are known to be MUCH hardier in your area. Acer pseudosiebolianum is the most cold hardy (Zone 4).

Regards,
K4

thanks for the info- I will look into these species. going to give the sango a few more weeks before deciding what to do with it. The scrappy one I will most likely remove-don't think it will ever look good. seems the expensive nursery trees are not doing as well as the cheaper home depot trees I bought, go figure.
thetman

There are some other Coral Bark maples that are purported to do much better than SK - A.p. 'Japanese Sunrise' and A.p. 'Red Wood' in particular. I have both of them, but have not had them long enough to compare to SK. I've had my SK for about 8 years now, and it was about 6ft. tall and a stout tree when I bought it. Now, years later, its still about 6ft tall and a little stouter! The winter die-back on this variety is a joke! Definitely not worth the hassell.

I'm also trying an Acer circinatum, which is a native American species, but is directly related to Japanese Maples and can even cross with them. I have a variety called 'Pacific Fire' that was an absolute stunner this past winter! Reddest thing in my garden! The stems are much thicker on this species than on the palmatums. May want to give it a try. Needs protection from hot afternoon sun, but other than that seems to be doing well.

Regards,

K4

thanks for some more suggestions-seems the sango is not the way to go. kind of an expensive mistake but at least now I know. Maybe a flowering dogwood instead?
thetman

I have had no luck with any coral bark and can't think of a nice local plant. Fot that reason I also tried Acer circinatum 'Pacific Fire' After its first winter it has leafed out and looks good. Very nice combination of leaf and bark color.

David

nice suggestions- i ended up removing it this weekend and put in a rose of sharon (Hibiscus syriacus ardens). I know its a smaller species but hopefully will prove to be more hardy than the sango. There wasn't many specimens of maple I liked at the nursery (the good ones were too large for me to tackle alone) so I went with something totally different.
thetman