I live in the UK midlands and have had a medium sized Osakazuki in a pot for three years. After being a less than interesting green all summer, it became a blazing red in the autumn. It was stunning! My atropurpureum, however, has given me a steady variety of reds,, varying throughout the season. I absolutely love it.
Recently moved to a house with a much larger garden and planted some maples I’ve had in pots for several years. This included a bloodgood and a atropurpureum. I love the atropurpureum and it’s definitely my favourite to date ❤️
I have 2 of the Atropurpureum. They hold their color well when planted in full sun. Doesn't get the sun leaf scorch. When the sun shines on them, the red is transparent and magical. They are slow growers though. Another nice feature is the red stem. Overall a beautiful JM. I also love my Bloodgood, can't beat its spring bloom.
I always thought that as well in the past. But there are reasons for it. Bloodgood has unique color and very though JM. It is very heat tolerant and takes direct sun pretty good. Other one will have hard time surviving same conditions as good as bloodgood is in the southern part of US.
Bloodgood was my first Japanese maple. For me it was mostly just an availability thing. Bloodgood are easy to find. It’s hard to find any other cultivar honestly. I live in Western PA.
@@kellymcy my bloodgood is planted in the ground in full sun. It’s doing ok so far but I think it would do better if it got afternoon shade. The leaves take a beating in the hottest summer months.
I think if your going for red accent yeah Atro looks great, but I love the size of the leaves of the blood and I am a sucker for the dark almost black foliage. In the south the blood good is ever changing like a mood tree.
@@thebeardedbonsai In spring they emerge the dark red/black color with in hot summer they turn dark green and in fall they are red RED just like the Atro.
Last year i bought 2 Acer palmatum Atropurpureum well at least according to the cards on them...however after your video i see they are just the regular bloodgood's. Now i know why they did not turn bright red and stayed reddish brown, i was thinking maybe the soilmix or where they stood in the garden was wrong or something... The search for the right one continues.. You think you could trust the cards with the plants but nah....
I will say there is a chance that they are indeed Atropurpureum, as there can be a huge variance from one tree to another since it isn't a specific cultivar.
I agree with you but my understanding is that atropurpureum is a classification for any red Japanese maple and when a maple isn't a named cultivar it is referred to by its subspecies classification. That said, bloodgood is also an atropurpureum because it is red, but it was a cultivar because it was unique. Despite not being a cultivar, your atropurpureum has likely been selected for its color and ability to hold that color long into the year. It is not necessarily unique enough to be named though as there are many seedlings that carry the same red color. Honestly bloodgood isn't unique anymore either but at one time it was the gold standard for red maples.
You are correct! I love the subspecies and feel like they are massively overlooked due to the large number of named cultivars. I just wanted to showcase one of them and show how nice an unnamed variety cam be. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!!
Bloodgood all day. Survived my crazy area. In and out of teens in winter and 100 plus with no rain in direct sunlight in summer. Just got a red dragon last week. Fingers crossed!
I have bloodgood, Acer Atropurpureum and the Red Dragon. The Red Dragon holds its color in summer and is extremely sun tolerant. No leaf scotch whatsoever. It is said to be slow growing but mine coming out of winter, grew a lot and I was praying it stopped .You picked a good one, mulch and water it well the first year.
@@thebeardedbonsai yes. I bought a tree yesterday but im not sure if its the Bloodgood or Atropurpureum. Seems like they are similar actually?? Maybe in July like this video the Bloodgood turns darker violet than in Spring? And in Autumn more lighter red again?
@@thebeardedbonsai thanks for the comparison, I found a place to buy a bunch of 2-3 year old atro. seedlings, that i’m now going to pull the trigger on.
@@thebeardedbonsai Scenic hill farm nursery, is the name. they ship bare root, so i like to order from them fall through spring. i found them on the shop app.
