longevity of Coral Bark Maple in PacNW/Seattle

(I originally posted this in the Japanese Maples forum, x-posting to Northwest Gardening)

Hi everyone - We've got a mostly-sunny, south-oriented side yard here in Seattle (Zone 8). It is a long but narrow side-yard (90' long by 15-20' wide) and we'd like to plant a vase-shaped, small to medium-height (up to 30') maple alongside the asian-style bamboo fence we've built for visual interest and a little privacy.

We like the look of Coral Bark and some similar maples but were told that Coral Bark Maples typically last only 5-10 years in our area, and we didn't want to invest in a tree and have to replace it in 5-10 years. Perhaps they don't like damp winters? Can anyone advise on good, vase-shaped ornamental maple candidates for the Seattle area?

Many thanks in advance (we're new to selecting trees :)) - Michael

Wow, Michael -

I had never heard that. Most Japanese plants do well here because of the similarity in temperatures. I have one that is 3 or 4 years old and doesn't show any signs of giving up. They would have to last longer than that to achieve full size.

I don't see any mention of this on the Rainyside site or Paghat's garden

http://www.rainyside.com/features/plant_gallery/shrubs/AcerSango-kaku.html
http://www.paghat.com/coralbark.html

You might also try posting on Gardenweb - there are seasoned gardeners there who don't belong to DG. Membership there is free. I did see on one of the posts that there was a comment about "people reporting losses" of Sango Kaku, though the post didn't say more beyond suggesting an alternative of Acer conspicuum 'Phoenix' .

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

I think victorgardener, who hangs out in the NE forum might have some opinions on this. I know he has Sango Kaku.

All in all, I think this plant is well worth it - I haven't seen any problems, but I'll be interested in hearing what you find out from others.

Kathy

I put my Sango Kaku in at 4 ft tall about 10 years ago and it seems quite happy. I'd guess it's 15ft or so now. I've always heard that around here was one of the BEST environments for JM, so I'm surprised you'd hear that.

My only guess as to why they might have gotten that kind of label is that it's been probably one of the most-available JM's for some time, and very popular. So, it seems to me that there's more of a market for cheap ones. To me, this would mean that there's a higher possibility of poorer specimens being available that wouldn't last as long-due to poor plantsmanship before they even got as far as someone's yard-and that more of the folks putting one in would not be as aware of what the tree might need as well....but that's total speculation on my part.

I would look for a nursery that specialized in JM and get a tree there. I don't know one to recommend in the Seattle area anymore, though-I've been down here too long. Maybe Kathy or Katye can suggest some good sources.

My favorite source is a less expensive one - Flowerworld in Maltby (between Woodinville and Monroe). I got my tree there as a small guy and didn't pay much.

My sango kaku is at least 10+ yrs old. It definitely had problems when a major limb from a nearby Doug fir fell on it - broke the crown. I pruned it a bit & waitied to see what would happen. All was welluntil the prolonged cold spells of winters 2006-07 & 2007-08 caused what i think was an existing crack to deepen. If i prune away the branch that is cracking, I'll lose a good protion of the tree.
I'm telling this not to discourage anyone from obtaining Sango kaku: I wouldn't hesitate to plant another. Rather, I'd like to highlight a problem that any tree with tight crotch angles can have: cracking. It's important to thin out the excess from many trees; I have found this to be so with the JMs.
Sue nailed it, though: poor specimens. Mine was excellent stock, but even the best can encounter problems. Poor quality stock can be disasters waiting to happen.
By the way, the Doug Firs got recycled, and Sango Kaku lives on under my watchful eye...

And it is impossible to find JMs without sharp crotch angles. That's what they do. But then, I'm sure you didn't plan for your Sango Kaku to get nailed by a tree many times its size.

I have to confess that I gave mine to my neighbor because she was wanting one badly and mine was being grown in a pot. I drive by every day, so I can enjoy it - it's very happy in her front yard. Of course, now, that just frees me up to look for a good deal (or two) on another.

I have a beautiful vine maple (hard to imagine, I know) in front that has three major split limbs from the snows and freezes last winter. Getting to those limbs will be in itself difficult. But they're still alive and I plan to wrap them up as best I can and watch them heal.

Kathy

Great info - thanks everybody! We will go ahead with a Coral Bark Maple, my wife will be happy to hear that :).

Cheers - Michael

Check out my thread on 10% off in 2009 at Flower World!!