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hairmetal4ever

Acer circinatum in the East?

hairmetal4ever
10 years ago

After looking at pics of Acer circinatum 'Burgundy Jewel' - I want one.

This might be better for the Maples forum, except that there seems to be about one post a week over there, haha, so I figured I'd ask here.

As a PNW native plant, I first wonder if it can handle humid heat in summer...

Has anyone in the East, Midwest, or Southeast tried this plant? If so, at what level of success?

Comments (8)

  • gardener365
    10 years ago

    I grow the circinatum x palmatum 'Herbstfeuer' with ease but it's in an hour of morning sun and then 2-3 hours late evening sun only. And, it's in terrible clay. It does amazing in these circumstances. I'd suggest if you were to try the species you might replicate these light conditions as best you may. Just 3 hours of late day sun would be equivalent or morning sun only till noon being the very most sun it should ever see.

    Of course there's a shirshawanum or japonicum also with burgundy leaves. I don't recall which species off hand. Maybe that may be of interest. It will definitely be easier to grow.

    Dax

  • j0nd03
    10 years ago

    Hair, I'm glad you made this topic. I wasn't sure which topic you posted a question about root pruning fabric pots' efficacy when some of the roots went through the bottom of the pot.

    Well, it just so happens I planted an acer circinatum Saturday that had been in a root pruning bag since March 2012. There were several nice size roots out of the bottom which you can kind of see in pic #1.

    Pics #2 and 3 show just how dense and fibrous the rootball was WITH NO CIRCLING ROOTS. And this on one of those darn maples Ken hates so much because they send roots everywhere!!

    I planted mine in a location that will get morning sun until around 1 ish. It's is the shadiest part of the property that is not already woodlands.

    {{gwi:463772}}

    {{gwi:463773}}

    {{gwi:463774}}

    This post was edited by j0nd03 on Sun, Oct 20, 13 at 9:09

  • buckeye15
    10 years ago

    Well who wouldn't want one of those? After looking at pics, I want one too. I have been growing Acer circinatum 'Little Gem' here in zone 6A northern Ohio for 6 or 7 years. It has performed beautifully and grown very well in moderate shade under a huge pin oak in a clay loam with a pH about 5.5-6. I was very proud of it as a specimen till late last fall when a huge limb from the oak crashed down and absolutely crushed it. It is still alive but there isn't much to show in a pic. I am trying to prune and train a new form out of it.

    Having said all that I don't know how Burgundy Jewel would perform for you, but at least some circinatums perform reasonably well out east.

  • hairmetal4ever
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    John,

    *sniff*

    That root system is beautiful, man!

  • gardener365
    10 years ago

    Very nice.

    These are root systems from Rootmaker cells then planted to slightly larger than 1-gallon nursery containers that were painted with marine paint (such as 'Aquashield') which contains copper. When the insides of the containers are painted the roots do not circle.

    These are of a Green Giant and a boxwood from cuttings:
    {{gwi:463775}}

    {{gwi:463776}}

    Dax

  • j0nd03
    10 years ago

    Lawdy Lawdy looks at those roots!!!

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    Glad to see techniques to combat the pervasive girdling root issue.

    Nurseries, get on it now.

  • hairmetal4ever
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    A few nurseries do, beng. Locally, Loudoun Nurseries in Purcellville, VA grows in Smart Pots, and a place up in PA called Woodlawn Trees uses Rootmaker products.

    Sooner Plant Farm is a good mail order source using smartpots for at least some of their stock. Most of their maples are available in smartpots at least as one option. For other plants, it varies, although their owner has posted here before and stated they're starting to move towards producing more and more stock in Smart Pots.

    It's costly to do so, and while people like you and me would pay more for plants grown that way, Mister Bradford Pear and Miss Leyland Cypress don't know or care enough about plants for these types of growing methods to really catch on.

    The way to "win them over" might be to show them the difference in establisment success rate and speed of growth afterwards - trees grown in root pruning pots (this is anecdotal) seem to establish MUCH faster, and sometimes as if they haven't even been transplanted at all in some cases than B&B or traditional container stock.

    Or if "high end" landscaping firms started using them more by making the argument to the high-end homeowner that they can (at least somewhat) avoid that 2-4 year period where all their trees look half-dead on top (small leaves, dieback, etc) while they establish by using plants grown by root pruning methods.

    This varies by species etc.

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