Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
For drawing the center of attention from their beautiful structure in our winter landscape, the mind-blowing diversity of leaf shapes and vivid fall colors, nothing beats Japanese Maples. Whether you need a striking focal point to give your garden that extra wow factor or an anchor for your perennials and especially if you are pondering a treasure for a Japanese themed garden, look no further. Japanese Maples are unrivaled for textural elegance, architectural presence, changing foliage, and autumn brilliance. Japanese Maples have a long history dating back over 400 years in Japan. The first examples arrived in Europe around 1820 and later to America. Over the centuries over 1000 different varieties have been cultivated with names like Lion Head, Sieryu, Crimson Queen and Bloodgood just to name a few. The variations between varietals are astonishing. Some have leaves thin, thread-like leaves while other’s leaves are almost round. Colors range from various shades of green to purples and reds. Variegated (multiple colored leaves) varietals are also available. Today’s growers are still developing new Maples. One of our growers shared a story of how three specimens he created were dug up and stolen from his garden!