IME, if you can grow one Japanese maple, you can grow any Japanese maple, so I don't think I'd limit a list to "beginners only" :-) It is really just a matter of what you like and have room for. I will say that the species or most seed grown plants are tough little buggars and can give you a lot of bang for your buck.

I've attached a link to a previous thread on this forum that has run for years. Titled 'your 5 favorite JM's', it is a compendium of some of the best and some of the most distinctive varieties. And some of the most popular. Researching some of these and checking out photos should provide a lot of great choices for your soon-to-be addiction!

Here is a link that might be useful: previous favorite JM thread

Thanks so much! I will definitely be checking those lists out. I should probably also point out that I am definitely already addicted, haha.

I posted on the thread you posted, but I'll post here too for anyone who's interested. Since I have only just planted the trees I have listed here, what I say can hardly be considered reliable. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to broadcast what trees I have started with. I just may think better of my list at some point and give a new one. I will say that I have read a lot about Japanese Maples since my interest was piqued, so I do have some education. But, well, you tell me what you think...

In no particular order:

Yama Hime (dwarf with very small green leaves with red border)
Kuro Hime (dwarf with dark green leaves that are red when they are new leaves)
Shuminagashi (a tree that has red leaves spring/summer/fall. I like the leaf shape better than bloodgood)
Moonrise (which I'm told is very similar to Autumn Moon)
Ryusen (A really strange one that needs to be trained to an arbor or something similar to get it to stand up. Very pretty leaves though)

Shishigashira and Wills Devine gets honorable mention. I would maybe have put my dissectum tree on this list, but I have no idea what kind it is. Maybe I'll post some pictures and see if I can get it identified at some point.

IME, if you can grow one Japanese maple, you can grow any Japanese maple, so I don't think I'd limit a list to "beginners only" :-)

Says the one that can grow any Acer in the PNW! Zone 6 is probably a different game but there are many many cultivars that just don't work in the Midwest.

Spacehog, I can tell you that Acer palmatum is somewhat of a disastrous species for early freezes. 'Fire Glow'...dead...'Emperor One'...4' leader dead...'Brandt's Dwarf'....dead.

I'd recommend starting with the species Acer shirasawanum as it leafs out later in spring.

Strong growing A. palmatum and shirasawanum cultivars for me...

'Lima Gold'
'Coorna Pygmy'
'Green Snowflake'
'Orion'
'Caperci Dwarf'
'Orangeola'
'Red Dragon'
'Coonara Pygmy'

Oh, and if you are looking for a source...http://www.topiary-gardens.com/

The BEST in my opinion. The owner is extremely friendly, knowledgeable and RESPONSIVE. Imagine that!

For sure folks will have different experiences with different trees. I'm surprised whaas has had less than great experience, as both Fireglow and Emperor I are considered to be exceptionally good and easy-to-grow trees regardless of area. Emp I is considered an improved form of Bloodgood and highly recommended for colder areas simply because it leafs out several weeks later than BG so avoids late freezes. I would not consider any cultivar necessarily trickier to grow in a zone 6 with the exception of some of the very delicate foliage selections, like the reticulated or variegated forms or those with very fine linearlobum foliage. And that's more a reaction to high heat (and/or sun) than it to is to winter cold - pretty much any cultivar will tolerate to zone 5 without concern.

Here is a link that might be useful: great midwest source for JM's and JM info

JMs are certainly a rare site in this area. I recall a hort. manager @ Chicago Botanic Gardens stating they don't plant A. palmatum as they despise dry winter winds and are susceptible to severe dieback from frosts. Anyone notice they only have one specimen in that massive, glorious and one of the best botanic gardens in the US?

I believe that in all but I know quite a few folks that are successuflly growing JMs in northeast IL.

I'm just bitter because I'm jealous of all those that can grow them.

GG, looking back my comment towards you may have appeared rude but not intended as such.

If you don't want to spend your life savings, another good source for JMs is oriental garden supply.

Davidson is amazingly knowledgeable and does have great info on his website but...I should probably stop there.

As gardengal48 mentioned, by and large I don't believe that specific cultivars are easier for beginners to grow.
What we are seeing listed are cultivars that are popular and that usually translates to "available" and flashy.

I think the most important thing a "beginner" can do is accurately assess their conditions and then choose the tree that suits them. Conditions include light, exposure, temperature, wind, attentiveness...

In other words choose the JM for the spot, not the spot for your new JM.
Subtle difference but important IMO.

Well I have to thank everyone again because I find all of this stuff to be very useful! I have found Davidsan's site and you're right it is very easy to understand and useful. I'm glad to hear that most of the trees are more or less the same as far as how difficult they are to grow. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on buying a Winter Flame tree for that reason. I had heard that they do very poorly in the winter time (which seemed a bit ironic considering that everyone else talks about how they have their best appeal in the winter). I also got A. Japonicum Aconitifolium which I am very excited about. I had heard from a guy at a nearby nursery that they only carry A. Palmatum because the other species are so difficult to grow that you need to be an expert to even try.

I guess we'll see what happens to my trees, because like I said I am the very definition of new to gardening and to Japanese Maples. I have been reading as much as I can though and trying to learn from people like yourselves. Hopefully I don't screw it all the way up!

Spacehog- site them properly, plant them properly at the proper time of year, water them properly to establish them, then get out of their way and leave them alone.

I find that plants in trouble tend to coincide somewhat alarmingly with my level of obsession over said plant.
If you obsess over bugs you will find them. If every piece of cosmetic damage stresses you, you will have too much cosmetic damage and so on.

Observation is good and IMO the single most important factor in being able to grow things well. But close observation does NOT equal knee jerk reactions when one sees a real or imaginary problem.
There is NO problem that cannot wait for you to 1) accurately identify what the problem actually is and 2) research carefully what you need to do about it.

I find JM's to be very easy to grow- maybe I am lucky but I have never had a real problem with any of mine, except one of my very first that I sited poorly in a "too shady for the variety" area.
I moved it into more sun and that was that, lesson learned, and it's been smooth sailing ever since.

I have been growing acer palmatums in Cleveland (zone 6), along Lake Erie for the past 25 or so years and I dont find them to be too difficult to grow in zone 6. Sharp drainage is critical, IMO. Some of the variegated forms may be a bit more tender and may have some bark split or dieback in really severe winters, but they tend to heal over very quickly. The last 10 years or so have been so mild that I think almost any acer palmatum is good in zone 6 especially if its given some protection from winter sun/wind.

Whaas - absolutely no offense taken! I have encountered rude here on GW recently but your post was not even close to being rude :-) I'm just sorry you have not had better experience with JM's that should have worked well for you.

Spacehog - FWIW, the japonicums, shirasawanums and the Korean or Manchurian maples are usually considered to be somewhat more cold hardy than the palmatums but certainly no more tricky to grow. Any nurseryperson that says so just doesn't know his Asian maples :-)

GG, I don't think those cultivars to your point are non performers or tough to grow its just that being in zone 5 that species can get hit hard with early season frosts causing dieback or death. This April was a bit more of an extreme compared to normal years though.

Yes, I saw that strange fella Weislaw arguing with. That was an interesting thread for sure.

As gardengal48 mentioned, by and large I don't believe that specific cultivars are easier for beginners to grow.

I'd like to add that certain cultivars are more finiky to site conditions and more suseptible to early and/or late season frosts. For that reason some cultivars are more challenging to acclimate and grow. However I don't think that is limited to beginners but all of us...in zone 5.

Zone 6 and above truly is a different game.

That's why I included that link to Davidsans :-) I figured if they (located in St Louis) felt these were good, strong trees, that should be appropriate for most of the colder midwest. But, yes, all bets off with this spring, which was atypical weather in your area to say the very least.

Excellent! That is very encouraging news about the japonicums and shirasawanums being good in the cold. I will reveal my ignorance though and ask you what "FWIW" means, haha. I am not exactly learned in internet lingo as you might have guessed. All of your guys' information has been extremely helpful though, and I am starting to feel much more optimistic about my chances of success.

I ended up getting 10 Japanese Maples this year which is about 9 more than I expected I would, haha. But what can I say? The more I learned about them and the more I saw pictures, the more I felt like I needed to have this tree or that. I think I'll be getting more next year for sure and I already have my eye on some of the ones mentioned here. But since I am such a greenhorn I'm going to see how I can do with the ten I have before repeating any of my rookie mistakes. My deepest thanks to you all though for your help!

Davidsons Japanese Maples in Springfield is where I have purchased most of mine from. Excellent source for the midwest buyer. I drove a uhaul from Des Moines Iowa 4 hours there and back and it was well worth it.

This is an old thread, but a great one. I'd like to add my agreement that Davidsan's in New Berlin, IL (near Springfield) is a wonderful place and very knowledgeable. One good basic to remember that he espouses is that JM's are a lot tougher than people realize. Give them good drainage and reasonable newly-planted material care and they will reward you with good toughness overall. I live in Omaha and have had great winter-over results. One additional point - when you consider trees, in addition to the palmatums, shirasawanums, and japonicums, don't forget to consider the acer circinatums (vine maples). Many of them are stunning and fit right in to the decorative concept of the Asian tree. My final point - never buy a seed grown JM. They do not necessarily retain the characteristics of the tree they came from. Always buy a grafted tree.

Never say always. Here's some of my seedling grown Japanese maples.

I grow from seed to see what pops up. On my limited budget it's cheaper too.

http://s75.photobucket.com/user/Botann/library/Winter%202012-13

Mike

Those are lovely photos of lovely trees, miketann!

I think seedlings are a great experiment and very fun for JM enthusiasts, but when you're looking for specific characteristics it's certainly better to buy a known cultivar rather than "seedling of Sango kaku," etc. Especially if you have limited space and need your tree to perform in a certain way.

...But yes, the seedlngs are pretty and great fun. I'm anxiously awaiting the third season of my little collection.

Agree on both posts, both re trying seedlings and ensuring trueness via grafting. Loved the pics! Jealous of all the land and favorable growing conditions.