Another picture of my Now Skinny .. Right before winter-time .. Dropping It's Leaves .. FireGlow.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1048739}}

These should work!?

MC

Here is a link that might be useful: TRY AGAIN

I forget the original post... how old is your Fireglow? It sure grows slow here in our garden.

hawki,

Our Fireglow is about two and a half years old now.

I haven't taken an actual yearly measurement but I'd guess that it has grown a little over two feet in that amount of time.

That's amazing, especially when you take into account that it is almost always in the shade, (under a forest of oaks) and is planted in Pure Clay soil.

MC

That is a really beautiful tree. But I don't understand the point you are trying to make regarding the comparison to a 'Bloodgood'.

Randy

Hi Randy,

Heck .. It's nothing.

About a year ago I was responding to a post where someone asked about a dwarf bloodgood.

Somehow, (after I posted about fireglows being a dwarf or hereditary offshoot of bloodgood) the post led to the growth speed of fireglows.

I made the simple statement that my fireglow was growing Much faster than what it was supposed to.

That statement led to the following, (copied and pasted here) reply to my post:
===============
mrclose,

my reaction is one bloodgood got mislabeled as a fireglow. Wouldn't be the first time.

=========

Now, a year later, I guess that I am responding to That post too!?

MC

I'm going to stir up the pot a bit :-) MC, why are you so certain this isn't a Bloodgood (other than the assumedly correct labelling the tree came with)? The similarity between these selections is pretty darn close - yes, Bloodgood gets bigger/grows a bit faster and has more deeply dissected leaves, but after discounting these distinctions things tend to blur considerably. Coloration is really quite similar, although Bloodgood does tend to have a bit more of the darker, purple tones to midseason foliage. And coloration is highly dependent on growing conditions - soil composition, shade/sun, weather, amount of irrigation, etc.

I am guessing much of your assumption that this is indeed a Fireglow (discounting any labelling issues) is becasue of the intensity of the fall color. But both of these selections, as well as Emperor One, Moonfire and Nuresagi, have the potential to develop pretty stunning scarlet fall color. The intensity just depends on growing conditions.

FYI, the name 'Fireglow' was assigned because of the firey effect of the backlit foliage, NOT - as many assume - simply because of fall color.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I guess that I am one of the lucky ones!?

My Better Half's daughter-in-law is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in botany.
She, (the botonist) confirmed that this was a fireglow.
Other than that .. I have, No Clue!
(btw, If David had been married to her a year or so ago .. THIS and THAT post that I made would have been irrelevant.

MC

gardengal48

To make things a little clearer .. In some other post, in some other forum, (and maybe even this one) .. I had already posted the fact that Fireglow received its name from the "Backlit" Magnificense that it displays when the sun hits it from behind! Na Na Na Na Na Na

Gardengal48, I'm just being childish here. (got my fingers in my ears while i'm doing the na na thing too) LOL

Damn .. We need to lighten up once in a while .. don't we?

MC

I hope nobody minds but I have a question about an "ever-red" japanese maple. There are so many different varieties and this is my first so I dont know how close the fireglow and ever red are together.

I planted an ever red (apprx 4' tall x 2' wide) in a new green space between a new patio and a driveway this past summer to hopefully provide future seperation of the two areas. Being on the edge of zones 4 & 5 this plant is now covered in 2 feet of snow. I did cover the top with burlap as we had an arctic blast during the past few days.

Is my JM Maple doomed?

Your maple isn't necessarily doomed. Snow is good, because it insulates the plant. JMs are generally hardy to Zone 5, so unless you really dip into the zone 4 range for an extended period, you're probably OK. In the future you may want to look at Acer Japonicum cultivars - they are more cold hardy. Also the Korean Acers are super-hardy, like down to zone 2 or 3.

"Ever Red" is a loose term used for a nice red JM. There is an actual variety called "Ever Red", but a lot of people use that name for JMs that are NOT the named variety.

The most "Ever" red JM I have seen is called "Cindy". It stays deep red even in the shade.

Regards,

K4

I "DEMAND" to know where I can get one of those Cindy's!

A JM called Cindy?

MC

Mrclose, I wondered how long it was going to take for you to acquire more maples. lol You're hooked!
Can you imagine your yard full of them?

botann

Oh If you only knew!!

We, (my better half and I) live on a cul-de-sak (sp?) and our yard is a Forest!

I Wish that we could afford to have Lots of our oak trees removed.

(Too scared to even ask how much for removal of one 60 footer let alone 6 or 7 others)

We do have a Fireglow a Shania and a Ben Otake .

We Dream of having our yard completly done with JM's even though it doesn't look to ever be possible!

MC

Okay, as in ... "Oh Alright"

I am So Upset that gardengal48 hasn't been back to post!?

I answered her question and .. She hasn't responded?

BTW, I come here Everyday .. Just to see if Anyone responds to posts here.

UH .. I am guessing .. "NOT"?

I was out of line on my previous post!

Folks here "DO" respond to posts.

They Do .. Unless they have Nothing more to say.

This is a great forum and you folks are ... "THE BOMB!"

LOL .. (Horrible "New Age" expressions .. The Bomb? .. Uh .. DUH)

Oh, I'm here.......you're right - I just didn't have many more constructive comments :-)

However, my contention still stands. Botany degree holding DIL aside, it is pretty difficult to be absolute about the correct identity of a wide variety of J. maples. In many cases - like this one - there is such a subtle distinction between cultivars that many experienced propagators and commercial growers who work with these plants on a daily basis would have difficulty nailing down an absolute ID of a young, unidentified tree on a stand-alone basis. There is not a lot that differentiates a young 'Fireglow' from a 'Bloodgood'.......or an 'Emperor I', 'Moonfire', 'Sherwood Flame', 'Okagami' or several other selections. Especially when there is not another confirmed ID close by to compare. Kudos to DIL for being so on top of the identification :-)

Since yours was labelled as 'Fireglow', there's no reason necessarily to suspect that it isn't. Except that mislabeling DOES occur (and with remarkable frequency, IME) and IF that were the case here, it is my opinion that anyone would be hardpressed to confirm an absolute ID of 'Fireglow' based on viewing just this single, young tree.

YES!!

gardengal48

I have looked for you EVERYDAY! LOL

Heck .. Who Knows what my or anyone's JM is?

All we can do is Appreciate their beauty!
(even though my JM is naked, bare and spindly right now) LOL

mrclose,

A.p. 'Cindy' can be bought from Topiary Gardens, which probably has the largest selection of cultivars on the East Coast (almost 450 varieties).

www.topiary-gardens.com

And yes, there are a lot of JMs with people names, European names, etc. Some other favorites with non-Japanese names are A.p. 'Edna Bergman', A.p. 'Villa Taranto', A.p. 'Herbstfeur', and A.p. 'Mon Papa'.

Now, as for your Oaks. Those are a blessing! JMs need some shade, and they are natural understory trees. Oaks have deep roots that will not compete with understory trees like JMs.

My property is full of trees of all kinds, and this makes it perfect for JMs to grow underneath. What you need to do is simply raise the "canopy" of your little forrest. This is accomplished by cutting the lower limbs off the mature trees so more light and air can get to the plants beneath. I've been working on this for several years now on my property. You have to do it gradually, or you will shock the mature trees, so I only take off 1 or 2 major limbs per year from each tree. I also prune the limbs very carefully, making sure to do an under-cut of the branch first and always leaving the branch collar intact (never cut flush with the trunk). The effect this creates is a very "park-like" landscape, with no low-hanging limbs, and a light, dappled, high shade. The JMs will thrive in this kind of shade, plus they tend to get some direct sun early or late in the day when the sun is less intense.

My goal is to remove all the branches from the first 25-30 feet or so of my big oaks and hickories. This still gives them a nice crown, and they don't look un-natural. In fact, deep in my woods the trees have very few limbs low down; almost all of them are very high up because the trees were crowded when they were young.

So, don't cut down your Oaks - turn them into an asset that will help your Japanese Maple collection thrive.

Here are a few pics of my yard.

Hope this helps,

K4