Ukigumo is really unpredicable in its coloration. Usually the variegation and pink tones are more obvious in early spring and during years when the plant is under more stress. Sometimes this plant will show no variegation if the soil is to rich or if it has been fertilized. A little more sun will usually show a bit more pink, but you have to be carefull as it will also cause burning in the hottest part of the summer.

Matts analysis is right on ... I would add that over time it may adjust to where you have it over where it "was" and do better or not ;>) Remember also the photos on line or in catalogues that you see are often not what you will ever get out of a Jm in your area or where you have located it. Your tree may never be a "floating cloud" like you have seen. ( and of course you may have gotten a mislabled tree but from my experience i wouldn't "go there" yet) .Mine is in the ground in it's second year and shows little or no variegation... it gets aftenoon sun sort of filtered at times and is in RICH Illinois corn high nitro soil. What Matt said about stress is also true ...other than this tree my other older variegated trees have shown the most variegation ever after this disaterous spring freeze. David

Thanks for your insights. The too-rich soil might really be a factor with this particular tree, since when we brought it home from the nursery last summer, its roots were almost completely undeveloped and stuck in a wire cage in a huge, wet, almost solid clay ball.

I carefully freed the roots and planted the tree in its present container (at night, away from all sun) in a mix of soil, coir, and pumice, and kept it appropriately watered, and it flourished for about 2 weeks, and then we had temps in the 90. The leaves fried and all dropped off, but after that (late summer now) the tree grew a complete second set, which were solid green. (When we bought the tree, it did originally have the beautiful variegation, so I know it's an Ukigumo.)

So this little tree (not quite 4 feet tall now) has been through a lot, and it now seems to be happy and healthy where it is - except that I would love to see more color. But from what you've said, I think I'm just going to be patient and wait and see what next year brings. The tree's shape, structure, and condition of the leaves are all excellent, so I'll just keep hoping for "a good year" for color too.

The leaves falling off and reflushing explains things better. The secondary leaves of JMs are often different in appearance than the primary. Leaves from older wood also exhibit better characteristics than leaves from new wood. Just be patient as the desirable characteristics will likely show up again next spring (although it may take a couple of years before you start to get the best variegation back).

The leaves on the tree now, however, are primary leaves. If you look at the tree from a distance, they look solid green, but if you stand up close, you can see faint white variegation on almost all of them. (There are a few solid green leaves - should I be trimming these off? I hesitate to take any leaves off after all the tree went through last year.)

I found this description of Ukigomo in the Greer Gardens catalog:

"Place where it receives enough shade to prevent burning of the leaves; however, allow the tree as much sun as possible to develop best color."

So now I'm thinking maybe I should move the container...

Here is a link that might be useful: Acer palmatum s-z

I personally wouldn't bother moving this year you may just cause more problems than you will solve and i doubt you will see much change now although i could be wrong if it was me I'd leave it alone this year but placing it in a bit more sun mext season may be a good idea... filtered best ... and keep the fertilizer to a minimum low nitro only early spring...David

OK - you've convinced me: it's staying where it is for now at least! And I might even leave it for another year just to see if there is any more color after its first full year in this spot crisis-free.

Thanks for all in the input!

If your in W. WA, this form does very well in full sun(more so if planted in the ground). Since yours is in a container, shade in the hottest part of the day may work best.