Hi- Thanks for your response, gardengal. It looks as if I might have bought what I thought it was. I was wondering because, in addition to the difference in name, the label said the leaves become dark green in summer. However, Wayside Gardens sells the shirasawanum Aureum and they say the leaves will become dark green in summer while the Sunset Western Garden Book says it holds it's yellow-green spring leaves all summer. Anyway, summer will tell the tale. I was expecting yellow-green summer leaves when I bought the tree.

mjh and mucknmire, thanks for the worldplants info. Sometimes ya just can't afford to buy all your plants nice and big. I'm glad to hear their trees are good quality. I did buy a Sharp's Pygmy this weekend at a local nursery because of the year guarantee, and I did also buy a little Beni Otaki on Ebay because the price was great (this is beginning to sound like a confession), and I may yet get one more little one to put in a pot from worldplants, because their prices are so good. Maiku Jaku ended up at the top of my list because I really like the photos I've seen of it, but then I decided I really need to go SMALL (I have very limited space). I just hope the palmatums I bought prove hardy enough for my conditions. If not, next year, it'll be one of the japonicums. Thanks for the worldplants info. Christina

I have several different varieties of Acer japonicum and Acer shirasawanum that some would refer to as Full Moon Maples. I will take some pictures of individual leaves this weekend and post them on the gallery forum for you to see. They can be quite different. As was mentioned above one has to know the cultivar name to have any good idea of what tree they are looking at. It all can be very confusing at times especially when it is a common name someone is using. Unfortunately some trees have the wrong cultivar names on them also. Keep checking back on the gallery until I get them posted. All of these trees have had a awsome spring and look great. Kent

Thanks Kvolk - i'm going to check out that St. Mary's Broom you mentioned. Anybody have suggestions (online) where they've bought from? Or good links to info/picture on it? I could probably post this or look at the conifer forum too, but thought i'd write it anyways. I have very clayish soil too....enough to have to have a septic mound system at least. If you have any pics of your own trees, I'd love to see. I was thinking of getting the triflorum, griseum and that mandshurican (sp?) next spring. Anybody have any favorite places (online) they get these from? Or have had best luck with? Our winters haven't been extremely cold here either...no -20s at least. I was going to put some chicken wire around some of the more zone 5 iffy JMs or ones that i know the rabbits and other animals can get to. I just don't know if i should put some shielding on the west and north sides of the chicken wire enclosure for the trees...to shield from winter winds?? Not sure if that's worth the trouble. My trees are all on the north and east side of my house too. Last year, I wrapped all the JMs in this wire and then wrapped that wire enclosure with some polystyrene flexible layer and left top open...lot of work. And then even the Coral Barks had major dieback - they had the black bark thing happening. So i cut them back to about 10 inches off ground and they came back really nicely, but now it's almost winter and i don't know if i want to baby the Sango kakus every winter and then see them die back 2 feet every year. (I had planted these sango kakus last October - late). Maybe they weren't established enough and that's the reason for dieback or maybe the enclosure i made just was too much...and then they got that dark br/black bark and dieback?? Not sure. I have a couple more JMs this year compared to last...got a little crazy this summer. But anyways, i really only want to put the chick wire fence around the JM's and not try to insulate or shield them...you think i can get away with that? One more question...does anybody know if there's a really big difference between the acer griseum cinnamon paperbark and the girard's hybrid...personal experience with that? I don't know which one to get. NEWgars - is your girard's hybrid and griseum planted in pretty protected locations? And anybody have pictures of their triflorum, griseum and mandshurican?