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Anyone have a Ukigumo White/Floating Cloud Japanese Maple

hydrangeasnohio

14 years ago

Hello, I bought a Ukigumo last year fully leafed out in summer. It had about 50/50 white/green tones on the speckled leaves with pink edging on them. It was beautiful! Now so far this Spring it is growing like a weed. I have never seen a Japanese Maple grow so fast! Although the leaves are only light/lime green so far. No white or pink color at all. Also reading about them they claim when early to mid Spring when leafing out they leaves should be white only? Any suggestions or advice on what to expect?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

14 years ago

How much shade are these trees in? The heavier the shade on this particular cultivar, the more distinct the variegation will be. Sun tends to wash out or neutralize much of the variegation, although the pink tones show up with some sun exposure (morning sun only) and tend to be concentrated primarily on the upper branches.

FWIW, the leaves will never be only white, even if in full shade and with fresh new spring growth. White indicates an absence of chlorophyl and chlorophyl is a requirement for photosynthesis - no chlorophyl, no growth. Newly emerging foliage should be a very pale, delicate green with the white spotting becoming more noticeable as the foliage matures.

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Comments (7)

marcindy
14 years ago
My experience mirrors yours exactly. Mine is growing well, but so far the leaves are more lime green, upon closer inspection you see lighter and darker shades of lime green on the leaves. Absolutely no white or pinkish speckles anywhere. I am hoping that next year, with the tree being more established it will start to show some of that white that gave it its name. If not... well, I am patient but not endlessly so... :-)
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It is difficult to say just how it will look in a spot like that, but it sounds like to me you will have more of a whitish variegation rather than pinkish in that shady spot. Keep in mind that the variegation is usually only prominent in the spring and on older wood. New growth will usually have splotchy green leaves, while in spring you can have almost entire leaves white with pink intermixed. Personally, I would leave it potted up in a shady spot for the summer so that you can determine how it will do before planting it out. 'Ukigumo' is normally considered a collecter's item as it is sometimes a bit finnicky. But at that price, it is well worth taking a chance on. If you leave it potted up, it will need a decent amount of water. My 1 gal maples need watering daily, but I am in the southeast where it is usually in the 90's during summer. If you plant it out, it will need much less.
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Not trying to stir it up, but I have "orido-nishiki" that looks like the picture. The red stems are the indicator. I also have "ukigomo" that is as tall as the tree in the picture but not as full, and the leaf color is more chartreuse in addition to the pinkish-whitish colors and there are no dark green leaves, but that could just be due to the light it receives. Like I say, these are just my observations...not trying to make anybody unhappy or pretend I'm an expert. Maybe my trees are mislabeled! Yep, I once got a full moon maple at Orchard Supply Hardware (CA big box store) that was labeled as a regular JM. I knew what is was from the leaves and I snapped it up at a very very nice price. Shhhh. The tree in the picture is lovely.
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marcindy
14 years ago
Gardengal, thanks for your post. My Ukigumo gets sun from about 10am until about 1pm, after that it's in the shade of tall pines.
Embothrium
14 years ago
The basic leaf color is light green. The least-variegated leaves have a faint shading of pink on the edges, made up of very minute dots. Most leaves are marked in varying degrees by white or pink spots, sometimes merging into large areas. Other leaves are totally white or light pink

-- Vertrees/Gregory, Japanese Maples (2001, Timber Press, Portland)

My long-stunted specimen is in part shade, often heavily colored - as though sprayed with herbicide. Too bad it never progresses, this cultivar can produce a lovely effect when successful. Years ago I saw a much larger one growing on the edge of native woodland at a perennials nursery in Whatcom County, quite liked the tree's appearance.

I should probably pull it out, by now it seems there must be a pathogen involved. Maybe the person that gave it to me in the first place was having the same problem, got bored with it for that reason.
hydrangeasnohio
Original Author
14 years ago
That's funny mine gets sun from 10 to 1:30, just gets a little more sun than yours. When did you get your Ukigumo mincindy? I will still be thrilled with the Ukigumo if it gets last year color back in this summer sometime. The pale green is still nice to look at for now. I hope thinking it will eventually get it's color back this year is not wishful thinking?
marcindy
14 years ago
Hi Hydrangeasnohio, I got mine three years ago. It never had that same whitish variegation after I planted it.Like you I like the current lime green color, and I must say the leave shape is really nice as well, a little different from the deeper divided JM cultivars I am growing so far. Like you I am still hoping for a change from lime to more whitish in the summer, but it might not happen this year... Now, I did see a four foot tall Acer campestre 'Carnival' at a nearby nursery... wow is all I can say... I might consider swapping the Ukigumo for that in a year or two...we'll see.
tencutty_yahoo_com
12 years ago
I just bought mine about a month ago. Since it is still quite young i have in indoors in my sparebedroom. I have to say i love this tree!!! only problem is we just had a severe heat wave in Indiana and although its indoors and in mostly shade, the leaves are burnt to a crisp.Ugh!! JM's are very temperamental trees ,and can be aggravating. My ph level is good, shade is good, using rich worm castings in a well built container. any pointers?

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