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Showing posts with the label Emperor I

Summer Growth on Emperor 1 Japanese Maple - August 20223

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Earlier this Summer, I bought a small, grafted Emperor 1 Japanese Maple from the orange big box store (for $35) and planted it in the border of the kitchen curved bed in our backyard.  I had a previous Emperor 1 and figured that the price was right on this one, so I added it.  That lead to a (pardon the pun) Waterfall of Japanese Maples being planted this season.  The most recent was the high-grafted Inaba Shadire; the sixth JM of the season .   The small Emperor 1 appears to be doing just fine in the spot where it gets a mix of shade and some early-day sun.  It is out of the sun during the heat of the afternoon, but gets a little bit of early and late morning sun.   Here, below is what it looks like currently - it has a split set of leaders that I'm leaving as they are (for now): The reason for this post is not to document the current form (as...it is *mostly* the exact same shape/form/height) that it was when I put it in), but rather tho share a peek at some new growth.  Below,

Emperor 1 Japanese Maple Planted (Second One) - May 2023

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During the Winter doldrums, I mused on here about how I wanted to add 'a couple of Japanese Maple trees' to the garden and mentioned a few places where I thought they might work.  At that time, I was happy with my Emperor 1 Japanese Maple back by the fire pit and realized that the weeping Tamukeyama Maple tree had died .   I've been happy with the Emperor 1 Japanese Maple - it has put on new growth and is a nice, upright tree with dark maroon foliage.   When I was at the Orange Big Box nursery, I noticed a series of small (2 gallon nursery pots) of Japanese Maples that were short, but full of leaves.  Turns out, they were Emperor 1's.  Below is a look at how they were showing in their containers: The price was right (for me) at $35 and when you factor in the 11% rebate, the price comes down to $31.50 or so.  Below is the container: These Emperor 1's are upright Japanese Maples, but they top-out at 12-to-15 feet.  They can go just about *anywhere*.  In the post fro

Adding Another (Or Two) Japanese Maples in 2023?

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Back in 2020, I published a long post talking about how I wanted to add a (at least one) Japanese Maple to the backyard .  I ran through a series of varieties to try to narrow down what I wanted and ended up planting an Emperor 1 Japanese Maple (from the Morton Arboretum Sale) back by the firepit.  That tree has now gone through two seasons and seems to be settling into the spot.  The dark maroon leaves of the Emperor 1 Japanese Maple tree are in the photo above.   I also planted a Tamukeyama dwarf Japanese Maple up a little closer and was happy with that one, too.  Until this year, when that tree seemed to die.  Could it be the Walnut trees?  Maybe.  I've left it in the ground to see if it will come back this Spring.  If it doesn't, I'm thinking that I should replace it with ANOTHER Emperor 1 or other Japanese Maple from the Morton Arboretum this Spring.   Maybe on the north side, too? Underneath the Cataplas? In front of the Viburnum ?   Or in the far back yard, behind

Trees Breaking Bud Timing - Spring 2022

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Last week, I posted a couple of photos showing the timing of the Cherry Blossoms in our backyard on on small Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree .  This was the fifth of six growing seasons where we able to experience Cherry Blossom season.  Kinda nice.    Before we get too far into the Summer, I wanted to post a few photos in the [ tree diary ] showing the timing of some of our trees breaking bud this year.  These photos were all taken on Monday, May 9th.  So, we can call that early/mid May, right? First up - Dawn Redwood.  By May 9th this year, the needles were beginning to show up.  See below: Here's another look at the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree.  Leaves and flowers by early/mid May: Below is the "Grampy Tree" - the first London Planetree in the far back of the yard .   The three smaller ones I planted at the end of last season that I'm planning on PLEACHING aren't this far advanced.  That has me a bit concerned.  Below is the small Pagoda Dogwood tree that we a

Planting An Emperor 1 Japanese Maple - New Firepit Area - June 2021

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Back about a week ago, I posted a preview of where we were going to put our firepit area in the backyard with a little gravel area surrounded by some beds and (eventually) linked with a little path from behind the Northern Red Oak tree.  One of the new things that I'm planting in the border bed between the lawn and the firepit is a new tree.  And it isn't just *any* tree.  It is a tree that I've been thinking about for a while - based on my musings about how I should add a couple of Japanese Maple trees to our yard .  In that post , I included both the traditional (and widely available) Bloodgood Japanese Maple and mentioned that there had been a tweak to that cultivar to make it even more Cold-weather-hardy (for our Zone 5b) with something called the Emperor I Japanese Maple tree.  Ever since then, I've been looking for an Emperor I tree.  I've come across a few - in various sizes and costs, but they were all too expensive for me.   As is the way with MOST Japanes