Acer capillipes, Snakebark Maple

This is a seedling from a Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku', Coral Bark Maple.

It sure has a lot of new growth. How would you prune it? I can see several ways to go about it.

This is a Stewartia monadelpha with a seed grown Japanese Maple, Bald Cypress, Blue China Fir, and Dawn Redwood behind it. A bit crowded, but I can obtain some room with some creative pruning this winter. It will still have a 'wild' look though. This area is several hundred yards from the house so it's more appropriate the way I look at it.

I prefer the Stewartia monadelpha over the pseudocamellia because of it's more refined, smaller leaves, and better Fall color. I have avoided trees with large leaves, poor Fall coloring, and their accompanying maintenance issues.

This looks crowded also, and it is, but my driveway goes across the middle of this picture from left to right behind the maple and rhododendrons in the front, so it's not as crowded as it first appears.

Taken from front door looking southwest.

Mike

Hi Mike

How many Japanese Maple Trees would you estimate you have in your Garden ?

Can you add a few pictures looking out from the windows of the house

Stephen,Cheshire.UK

I have about 75 Japanese maples planted in the garden. Three were purchased and the rest are grown from seed and a few obtained in trades. There's probably 200 in pots waiting to be planted or culled.

I can't see out the windows. ;-)

Mike

Ice snapped this Acer palmatum in half a couple of years ago. No doubt the lean had something to do with it. At first I thought about cutting it down, but then decided to leave it for awhile. It's grown back really good, but the branching pattern leaves a lot to be desired. I'll take another look at it after the leaves fall. Looking Northwest in early evening with flash. Oh, grown from seed.

That's some timber bamboo behind it. Eventually it will have to be contained. It's over 30 ft. tall.

Mike

You're a naturalist, miketann. Ansel Adams would be proud. Imagine if he had taken color photos of your decades of work? Truly lovely, each and every tree, not just the maples in full glory. Thanks for showing us.

Thank you avamom! I enjoy sharing pictures of my garden.

Here's a Lace leaf maple from last year. It didn't color up near as nice this year.

I pruned it so the trunk would be visible in leaf rather than just in winter.

I 'think' it's Garnet.

Mike

I keep waiting for others to join in with their pictures of maples.

Stephen, The age of the oldest is about 35 years. I don't use fertilizer and I don't water them other than when they first go in the ground. My 10 acres has a varied terrain with different soils. I don't plant the maples up on sunny, sandy places with thin soil. All are mulched with wood chips whenever I can get the time.

This next one was taken at dusk just to be different. The needles on the ground are from an Ogon Dawn Redwood.

Nice pix as always, Mike.

Its odd... When you first posted this, the large Sugar and Red Maples of the neighborhood had already passed their peak. I'm still waiting on the JMs in my yard to turn.

tj

Fall color is all but done in my garden now.

Except for a Parrotia and Ginkgo. The Ginkgo is yellow on the top half and green on the bottom.

Here's one of the Parrotias as of yesterday. I underestimated how wide it would get so I've pruned to keep as narrow as is practical so I could have a bit of an understory rather than just a groundcover. That would be more appropriate in areas further from the house. The back of mine is just to the right of this picture.

Mike

Looking east

OK, this should be the last for me.

Fire Dragon Shantung Maple and regular Shantung in the background.

That seems to be the clear choice of maples in your area of Texas.

They go well together.

I'm going to tell my buddy in Plano.

Mike

Thank you for the beautiful pictures of your amazing gardens. I have a couple snake bark maples and several Japanese maples I got as whips from the local nursery. One of the snake barks and one of the Japanese maples still have all their leaves. The tone of the leaves on the snakebark are so bright it is difficult to look at them--like a lazer beam to the eyes. My garden is planned to give me something to look at during the darkest time of the year. Evergreens are my first love, but the show put on by the deciduous trees is a a wonder.

Thank you kristincarol.

The Fall color of the Japanese maples really brighten things up here in our cloudy, rainy Fall weather. There's even a street named Cloudy in the nearby town of Kent.

Mike

I am on the NW coast of California, btw, not far from Eureka so we have plenty of cloudy days year round as well.

I'm familiar with the area. I had a friend living near Arcata for a long time. A fun place to visit.

Mike

Simply beautiful! Thank you so much.