Collecting Japanese maples is a rather addicting - and expensive - habit :-) I grow all mine in containers and get a few new ones each season. But I need to stop as there are only so many containerized plants one can tend to efficiently.

I confess, despite knowing that living in zone 4 and not having a properly protected location on our property to plant JM, I can't help but look longingly at everyone else's both online and when visiting places that have many JM - be it arboretum/gardens, homes, out in the 'wild'... :P

Sadly, the only spot we have available to plant any tree(s) is on the western side of our home's property - or if we removed either the northern side's 'builder/developer' tree or the one in the front yard which faces south. We live in a neighborhood association and even though our house doesn't share any walls, our eastern neighbors do, as well as their neighbors (the other side of the cul de sac is a different layout plan but none of the homes share any walls) - there's not enough room on our lot's eastern boundary to plant anything. It's also where the utility lines to the meter and water line run. Given the relentless sun we have here from Spring through Fall hitting the western exposure, we are preparing to have some kind of tree planted...we want to shade that side because it is where the master bedroom and kid's bedroom are located and if we're going to be the ones paying for the irrigation of the 7 watering zones connected to our lot we at least want to be watering something we choose for our landscaping and not just the lawn that is there by default.

No, it won't be a cactus either. Maybe a plain old maple, those do well here and provide a brilliant show of color in Fall (right before all the leaves go and the ground freezes once more). There has to be something that will remind me of the JM's I love and wish we could have, that can withstand full sun, high winds, snow - and not get too big for the location. We're lucky to have a large patch of ground on the west (it's at least 50 yards from the side of the house to the boundary of our lot) with no underground lines crossing through. Our search continues... ;)

I totally get your JM addiction, for now my own will have to be satiated vicariously. :P

Jenn, you might want to consider one of the Acer x pseudosieboldianum hybrids. Very much a similar appearance to a Japanese maple but with much increased cold hardiness. And with a similar modest size of the JM as well.

Jack Frost Collection

Thank you! I will put those on the running list we've got going, many of the trees that we had put down when the list was started have been ruled out. There's a large tree nursery in the nearby area we've been out to, but everything they had in the prime planting Spring/Fall periods just wasn't what we're looking for and of course local property developers ready to add the landscaping would come and snap up the very best specimens. We've gotten preliminary approval from the Neighborhood Association for our landscape change application but without the tree to plant the additional steps are on hold (tree brought to property and professionally 'installed', connect to sprinklers, stone edging which is to meet the edging mandatory for any planting beds and around trees so that the landscaping service in charge of lawn care won't damage their equipment or the plantings themselves).

Gardengal anything you think I’m missing that would stand out from what I have in the list

LOL!! Of course there is !! You could add to that list endlessly and still not have many that were very similar :-) I would consider adding one of the congested dwarfs, like Mikawa Yatsubusa, Hupp's Dwarf or Seiun Kaku. And a linearlobum form, like Atrolineare, or Villa Taranto, Enkan or Koto no Ito. And you have no weeping dissectums? Baldsmith is my favorite. And Osakazuki, which arguably produces the best fall color of any JM. Or any of the full moon maples.......Aureum, Autumn Moon, Aconitifolium, etc.

I better stop now before I enable you further and potentially max out your credt card :-)

Just found a Lil Ann’s Jewel and it has a new home at the pond

Stopped by a nursery that I recently discovered and picked up a rainbow and a first ghost and they are absolute gorgeous and the rainbow it stunning

I went back today and added these to my collection

orangeola

mikazuki

rite of spring

manyo no sato

Nick, I like your style!! That's a lot of good trees to accumulate in just over a year. You are welcome to go JM shopping with me any time you like - just bring your credit card :-)

Nick, You are lucky to have a local nursery that you can stop in and pick from such a selection!

My Many No Sato was a little more green last year. I think it needs a bit more sun to get the nice purple color. My Orangeola is one of my favorites. Still looking for a "reasonably priced" 'Sharps Pygmy'.

We west coasters get a little spoiled with the ready availability of a wide range of JM's locally :-) All of my collection have been obtained from local nurseries and I haven't begun to delve into all the other many cultivars I could possibly choose from.....too many trees, too little space (and cash)!!

My complaint with my Manyo no Sato is that it doesn't retain that very defined limey-chartreuse variegation all season but quickly turns to a more or less solid purple. I really like that purple-lime green contrast and wish it stayed around longer.

So I went back to the nursery for a Jordan and found an Orange Dream I liked better for less money so I bought it and added these

Mikawa Yatsubusa

Ghost Dancer

Moonrise Full Moon

Do you have a big yard? 25 JM's can take up a fair amount of space once they start growing to size!

My front yard, house and back yard are on 8000 sq ft lot. 1/3 of that is my backyard. I will try and link a YouTube video from last spring prior to collecting JMs

Here is my yard. My pond now has 13 maples in the landscape. 8-10 will be bonsai and the others in containers to control size. I have 4 in the ground in my front yard. Bihou, Emporer 1, Coral Bark and a Acer Palmatum Atropurpureum

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FWzWZv35jiA

Today I added Crimson Queen and Ao Jutan to the collection

I just thought that I should update my list since the OP. Here it is as of yesterday after work stopping by my favorite nursery. I’m now at 36 including a few seedlings not on the list.

Amber Ghost

Ao Jutan-

Acer Palmatum Atropurpureum

Arakawa

Beni Otake

Bihou

Bloodgood

Butterfly

Crimson Queen

Emperor 1

First Ghost

Ghost Dancer

HanamiNishiki

Lil Anns Jewel

Lijima Sunago

Manyo No Sato

Mikawa Yatsubusa

Mikazuki

Moonrise- Full Moon

Orange Dream

Orangeola

PurpleGhost

Rainbow

Right of Spring

Shaina

Sharon

SangoKaku

Seiryu

Shindeshojo

Shirazz

Shishigashira

Sir Happy Jones Paul

And a nice tattoo

"And a nice tattoo"

Is that a statement of personal artwork....or the tree :-) LOL!

I already have Mikawa Yatsubusa and Hupp's Dwarf and Tattoo is just too similar to me.

I tried to upload a pick but it won’t for some reason

Sweet!! You must have a very good JM nursery close by :-)

I have 3 nurseries within 20 minutes from my house. I’ve been eyeballing this one since I started collecting last spring

These 2 areas are where most of my maples are right now

Just acquired a red sentinel and autumn moon making it 47. I’ll stop at 50 :)

I’m at 50 now as I found a couple seedlings that sprouted in my Shindeshojo

I found two nice trees at my local Home Depot . The ukigumo is 7 feet with a 2 inch trunk I picked up for $69. It’s stunning and has lots of pick in the leaves already. I was told it takes years for those colors to show.

Ukigumo

Viridis

Actually, the variegation on Ukigumo appears on even very young trees. But in Modesto, this absolutely requires considerable shade!! A couple of hours of early morning sun is fine but then plenty of shade for the rest of the day.

GG I have it in an area on my patio that only gets a few hours of early morning light . Thanks for the recommendation !

Sounds good! Keep an eye on it during hot spells.....it's not going to be fond of Central Valley summer heat.