Name is actually 'Shishi-gashira'. Gets pretty big in my area (western USDA 8), a lot bigger than the one shown is now. However upward branch orientation is retained into later years, it does not develop the same broadness that many cultivars do.

I am in zone 5 Milwaukee Wisconsin. Will It survive if I provide protection with burlap wrap?? If it doesn’t get too big I can plant in the bed along my garage which would receive mid day sun until late afternoon sun. But I am concerned that my be too much sun in mid summer. Doesn’t it like more shade. I don’t have a big yard and it is fenced except for the side near our back door. The wind usually comes from the west blowing east to the lake. In the summer I even open the back gate a foot or two to create a breeze.

There was and still is only one authority on JMs, that would be J.D. Vertrees who wrote the following about 'Shishigashira' "Usually a slow growing form, 'Shishigashira' can exceed two meters with age. I have seen old plants, 3 meters tall …."

Keep in mind he lived in Roseburg, Oregon. Will this plant survive in OP's location I have no clue.

Was this an end of season, half off purchase? What explains the serious wound and surrounding brown area? If it were me I would have passed on that plant.

Vertrees may be an authority but by no means the only one and in this case he has seriously understated the potential size of this cultivar. These trees routinely exceed 3 meters in my climate - 12-15' is not uncommon and one venerable specimen in a nearby display garden is well over 20' tall.....and quite wide as well.

Although unlikely to reach that size in the OP's setting, the tree should survive. There are many instances of this growing successfully in colder zones on various Japanese maples forums.......they are really quit a lot hardier than most suspect, provided they are well sited. A north or easterly position out of winter winds and winter sun and reflected heat, both of which can interfere with maintaining full dormancy for a sufficient period. It is the fluctuations in dormancy and vulnerability to late freezes than can cause the damage.

This cultivar is also quite sun tolerant.

Very slow-growing in my experience. Probably the slowest of any of my A. palmatums.

Must be your climate, Sara :-) I find that all JM's seem to grow faster than expected up here. Even my true dwarfs seem to put on significant growth each season and I grow them ALL in containers. If planted in the ground they grow even faster!

However the experiences of growing JM's in the PNW should not be taken as typical elsewhere in the country. We have pretty much an ideal climate for these trees.

OP’s location????

Gardengal—— you said site out of winter wind and winter sun, but you also said it was also quite sun tolerant, so I am confused. Is it sun tolerant in the summer? In Milwaukee we have high humidity in summer. Very common to have 60% and much higher.... would that make a difference? I can plant it in a northeast corner near the fence. In the winter it would be protected by branches from a large tree, some pitiful lilac branches and branches from a drawf burning bush. In summer it would receive less sun in summer, dappled mostly. Does that sound like a good spot and should I do a burlap wrap for the first couple of years like I did with my other JP maple ’acer palmatum dissectum Tamukeyyama.’ That tree is doing very well.

sam md——- As you can tell, I don’t know tons about trees. You are absolutely correct. It was 50% off costing me only $50. I looked at the price tag. I saw the mark on the trunk, but did not worry about it as I’ve seen many trees with marks which don’t seem to to be affected by the marks/defects. Even smaller trees.

Ebothrium—-thanks for correcting the name. The printing was so small on the tag that I mistakenly added extra letter/s. .......lol Do you think the upward growth would be limited in zone5 Milwaukee WI?

sara——-Slow growing would be fine with me?

'Sun tolerance' is usually associated with a JM's ability to withstand summer sun, which this does very well. Humidity doesn't factor into it all that much as humidity will be present regardless of how much direct sun the tree may receive. Winter sun (and reflected heat) is a different matter, as this affects the ability to maintain a proper dormancy and to avoid sunscald on the trunk. A north or east orientation will reduce this effect in winter but could still provide plenty of direct sun in summer. But dappled sun is just fine as well.

If you use a tree wrap on the trunk, avoid burlap or anything that can hold moisture directly against it. Instead use one of the plastic tubes or coils intended for that purpose....they are perforated to allow proper air circulation.

When I wrapped my Limelight Hydrangea trunk with a tube wrap it damaged the tree trunk. You may have seen that post recently..... when I burlap wrapped my other JPM, I wrapped the entire tree from ground up. Would that make a difference?

A tree and shrub collector in Tacoma was claiming his was 33' tall some years ago. Meanwhile a 'Shishi-gashira' me here has shoots made this summer that might be as much as 12 in. or more long.

Presumably grafting Japanese maple cultivars onto typical (wild type) seedling rootstocks has an effect on the vigor of the scions, same as with dwarf and slow-growing conifers. And orchard fruit trees, although in that case the use of weak growing stocks results in a dwarfing effect. Instead of the invigoration seen among garden conifers that are supposed to be much smaller and slower growing than the grafted material that is often sold and planted.

"me here" was supposed to be "near me here".

More or less coincidentally with the Tacoma tree one in Britain was 33' tall in 2004. Again a cool maritime climate like we have here, not the same as in Wisconsin.

You need to size the wrap properly. It should fit loosely around the trunk, not tightly. And you only want to leave it in place for winter. It is not designed to be a permanent attachment.

There is just far too great a chance for moisture holding burlap to cause fungal or rot issues, especially where there might be significant snow cover. It also will not deter rabbits or voles or other bark nibbling creatures that might be present.

Ok, I can look for the type of aerated wrap you are suggesting. In the meantime I decided on a spot. Northeast corner of yard. Will have dappled shade from several trees and bushes.

The where the big tree is located, is east. The fence is north.

Both the lilac and limelight were damaged when a humongous branch from the Box Elder broke off and fell into the middle of the yard. (I did NOT plant that tree.) The situation was a nightmare. Anyway that area in general received more light than past years, but I am thinking the branches around it will shade it enough during winter but provide dappled light in the heat of the summer. I am hoping this will be good. If not, I only lost $50 and learned a good lesson==>> do my homework first and resist impulse buys, unless it’s a really, really good buy. I am open to any feedback, + or -

The reason to site JMs out of winter winds is that the dominant NW winds are very dry and desicate the thin barked maples. Winter sun was covered above.

Whereas say zone 5 MI just east of the lake will get more moist winter winds and have more sucess growing JMs.

Another example is Topiary Gardens out of Marcellus, NY. Diane the owner successfully grows a wide number of JMs in her zone 5B. She gets the moist winds from the lake which contributes to here success. Case in point not all zone 5s are created equal.

Looks like you have the best spot you can get for a JM in our zone. As GG mentioned it will help with early and late season frosts/freezes as well. Good luck!

I have two 'Shishigashura' and both are very slow, vs, say, 'Seiriyu' or 'Tobioshi' or many other JMs. I got them at different times.

Jacob here you go. This Lion's Head Maple was planted in the Worthley Memorial Garden (Baltimore) about 26 years ago. It was no larger than your plant when it was planted. Today it is perhaps 3 1/2' tall by 4 1/2' wide. As you can see it has a dense and stocky habit. The garden is tended by volunteers and receives no TLC. The wild-eyed speculation "well over 20' tall" is probably referring to A.p. 'Mejishi' sometimes sold as 'Shishigashira'. Whichever plant you have, in your location your maple will never get close to 20' tall.

Thank you Sam, my mind is at Peace now. I hope it will get enough sun where I planted it. The one in the pic looks in all sun.

"The wild-eyed speculation "well over 20' tall" is probably referring to A.p. 'Mejishi' sometimes sold as 'Sishigashira'."

A whole lot more frequently than 'sometimes'.........most Japanese maple authorities consider them to be one and the same. (btw, that would be Shishigashira and Meijishi for spelling) And virtually all will show a mature size of at least 15' and most will state as much as 20' plus, even your Vertrees: "'Shishigashira' can eventually reach 20ft plus tall".

And a pretty nice but completely unnecessary little inclusion of snark in that "wild-eyed speculation" comment. As a grower, collector and seller for several decades, I am pretty darn familiar with Japanese maples!

Regional climate, planting site conditions and probably characteristics of rootstocks used will all have an effect on outcomes seen.