Acer?

I know alot of you travel all around the country and I was wondering has anybody seen a Maple seedling with new leaves on it such a dark purple as to almost be totally black?

I have a seedling that is about a foot and a half to 2 feet tall that decided to pop up in a pot of somethign else. At first I thought it was a leaf left over from winter that had been char-fired burned, but it's not . It's a brand new leaf waving in the wind. Ne w bud growth is red tipped with some white specks if that helps.

I have seen Maple leave s in an assortment of colors, but not almost black. Pretty cool looking actually. Wondered if there is a parent it might have come from. It is sitting in a pot three feet off the ground under a Hickory tree , so have no idea where this seed came in from.

Will try and get a pic in the next few days, we got the snow storm weather and rain coming her e in a few.

Shoot for got to ask. It in a two gallon pot and the other shrub that is in there with it is dormant at the time. Should I try and take this seedling out and put it in a pot of it's own or wait til the spring weather is really here.

Some of the cultivars of Acer platanoides have nearly black leaves. They look awful, in my opinion - they suck all the light out of the air, or should that just be they suck . . . :-)

Resin

Resin... Googled the Acer cultivar you mentioned. hate to say this about any tree, but thought it terrible too. Mine don't look anywhere's near that color. Hopefulyl rain wil stop sometime t ommorrow and I cna get a decent pic to show you.

SL,

It is debatable that Norway Maple would be growing that far south, thus limiting the likelihood that it's a seedling of Crimson King and ilk. I suppose that it just takes one person in the neighborhood to try one however. Anyway, plant sounds intriguing. Sometimes leaves will emerge darker than they would normally if the weather has been really cool. I'd definately hold onto it. Even if us plant snobs turn up our noses at it, there is a huge market of American (and others) consumers that get all excited by something other than green. If the color persists and we can ID it as something even marginally worthwhile you'd probably be able to barter with the likes of Don Shadow and get him to trade you something far more interesting for your-one-of-a-kind tree. To this day, I'm kicking myself in the rear for not buying the dwarf Disanthus cercidifolius that he auctioned off at the Southern Plant Conference. Just time your call to him just after he arrives back from his latest Japan or other plant hunting trip. :-)

Regards,
Ernie

Hi Ernie!!!!!!

I didn't know that about the leaves. I love it when ya learn new little tidbits of things. Now I gonna be anxiously watching for the rest of the leaves to emerge. Hope they do stay this color.

Don't know how long it take s for a Maple leaf to emerge from a bud but we have had temps in the 60 to high 70's for the past almost two weeks.

The rain we got here turnign to sleet and ice tonight so I think I gonna put it my hoop house for tonight and tommorrow night. Afraid it might get frost bit.

I know folks have been goign crazy getting Acer x freemanii down here. It is such a gorgerous shade of bright red in the fall.

Gonan high jack my own thread: )

The Southern Plant Conference you mentioned. Do they auction off alot of plants there and do you happen to know where and when it is?

OH MY!!!! Googled that Disanthus cercidifolius you mentioned. Boy is that beautiful. Love the color on it too and the shape of the leaves. I'd be crying my eye s out. LOL Think I need one of them. : ) You enabler you ! ; ))