How could I have missed the beautiful new foliage on Acer Sango Kaku in the woodland, when it was Foliage Day on March 22nd!
The foliage is light green in the summer and butter yellow in the autumn, but when it first comes out it is a mixture of colours which from a distance look coral, matching the new stems.
In the morning sunlight, it just glowed against the dark foliage of the Bay tree behind it.
The nearer you get, the better the leaves look.
The colours in the leaves can be seen clearly now, they start out green but change to pink near the tips. The pink stems are such a beautiful colour, it is just the young stems that have this colour and I can see pink flower buds forming already. I managed to save some seed from my little A. Osakazuki a couple of years ago and now have 2 tiny trees growing, maybe I will get some seed from A.Sango Kaku this year, I hope so!
I think on Foliage Day, I was too busy looking down to find any interesting foliage, I must remember to look upwards as well!
Quite beautiful, Pauline
Thanks Rosemarie, it looks lovely from the sitting room window!
It’s one of my favourites too 🙂
And mine Jessica, it looks lovely all through the year, not many trees can do that!
unusual and lovely colours, very Japanese looking.
It is a bit isn’t it Catmint. I’ve never noticed the leaves looking so colourful before.
What a beautiful Acer, truly value for money….yes, we must remember to look up! Isn’t yours a good size? How old is it?xxx
Thanks Dina, it is a lovely tree, one of the first plants that I bought for the garden after moving here. We came 25 yrs ago, so it is probably 24 yrs old!
With the sunlight catching it as well it does indeed look lovely, Pauline
It looked as though it had a spotlight shining on it Cathy, when I looked at it through the archway. It was a quick dash for the camera to catch it before the sun went in again!
That’s really pretty. I always think my acer is best in autumn, but forget how lovely the new leaf shoots can be. I must have a look at mine too in case I have missed anything!
I think so too Cathy! I’ve never really noticed the leaves emerging in the spring before, I must have a look at my other 2 Acers when they unfurl their leaves, Sango Kaku is always the first.
Wow! What a joy! Such lovely delicate spring like flowers! Not one I know, so thank you for the introduction!
They are so beautifully coloured Jane, I had never realised it before. It always has such lovely autumn colour when its leaves go a pale yellow, but I hadn’t noticed that it was also beautiful in the spring too! I’m so glad I was able to introduce you to each other!
Wow! Your tree is so beautiful. My own A. Sango Kaku is also beginning to waken, and I love this little tree! It is only about four feet tall but already shows a lot of promise.
It is a super little tree Deb, the first of my Acers to come into leaf and the first to display it’s autumn tints. Even in the winter the coral coloured branches stand out against the evergreen behind it. Mine is probably about 8 ft now, but it has taken 24 yrs to reach that height!
What a beautiful tree! It’s so easy to miss things at this time of year, when everything is busting out.
Yes Alison, there is so much to see at this time of year when everything is waking up, something new to admire each day, I must look up as well as down!
Sometimes these first stirrings catch us unawares Pauline but how special when we do notice. What fabulous colours.
This Acer certainly did Anna, I was too busy looking down! The colours in the new leaves is so beautiful, what a shame they have to lose them for the summer!
This is lovely acer Pauline. Your comment about remembering to look up reminds me of a book I’m reading by Karel Capek called The Gardener’s Year. Do you know it?. It’s hilarious. Pris at https://petalsandwings.wordpress.com recommended it to me and every word is so relatable. He recounts how gardeners in spring are busy looking down at the soil, plucking a weed, adjusting soil around strawberries, picking up a stone, crumbling a warm clod of earth, bending toward some young lettuce and meanwhile, the cherry and plums have bloomed against an azure sky.
How very true Susie, I’ve just been out in the woodland photographing lots more tiny little flowers on the ground, moving sticks and old stems to make the photos look better. Did I look up at all – no!
Although I’ve seen new shoots on trees and shrubs in the neighbourhood, I really miss my weekly walks around the Capel Manor gardens. The acers there are always gorgeous.
I’m sure you must miss your Capel Manor wanderings, I think they must have had lots of wonderful foliage on their trees, it must have been a wonderful experience for you each day.
Your spring is clearly ahead of mine Pauline, so thank you for the timely reminder to keep looking up. Your tree is beautiful – I have never seen one so big before – clearly it is happy in your garden! Do they like acidic soil conditions?
My soil Julie, is just the acid side of neutral and the Acers seem very happy in it. We have another Acer that was here before us and it is now about 15ft tall, I think it must depend on the variety.
A beautiful tree in all seasons. I especially look forward to it’s golden autumn foliage!
I agree Peter, certainly a beautiful tree. It is the first of my Acers to come into leaf and the first to change in the autumn to such a delicate butter yellow.
What a beauty! How exciting to have some little Osakazuki trees. I am intrigued to know whether they will look like their parents or something entirely different.
At the moment Chloris, the seedlings are in the greenhouse, so they are ahead of the one in the garden which hasn’t unfurled any of its new leaves yet. From memory, the leaves look the same as the Osakazuki parent, but I suppose the time to judge them will be in the autumn when and if the lovely red colour develops.