One year later (and despite the lack of comments), I'll show some progress. Weather looked good after I got my plants home last year so I (foolishly) sunk three of them in the ground as quick as I could. Little did I know it would be a bad late frost season. Compounded by my (unneccesary?) tree bagging (why do they sell those things?) and high winds, many of the branches from Watnong and Emmit's Pumpkin crashed and burned. Oh well, I guess the plants will be a little more upright. Akane did not survive (but after learning of it's issues, I wasn't too heart broken). Watnong will take another year to recover, but it is growing OK, just short and compact. Here's Emmett's Pumpkin this year:

I love the bronzey-orange overlay on the leaf:

Pastel spent the year in a pot after I potted up into a 3 gallon pot. I planted it early this spring shortly before the last (surprise!) frost of the year (I hope). I did a better job covering it since it was in my Hosta bed that I covered anyway. A little frost damage to the tips, but overall is doing just fine.

Ikandi got planted last fall with no damage from this year's spring frost (down to 27F).
My favorite so far from last year's purchases, also planted last fall is Bronze Age. Just so much variation in these leaves.
Had a little frost damage on the newly leafed tip, so now I'm stuck with this shape so far (darn, lol)

Steve, I love your JPs! You have so many lovely ones and I like the shape of the last one——so different from the others, straight up. I have a Tamukeyama JP and it’s small, flows down like an umbrella, kind of cascades over from the main trunk. I like that look.

debra