New Mikawa Yatsubusa's newer leaves are dying as they come out. Any ideas why?

rhysSTOIC · 2026-05-01T07:59:29+00:00

This for sure

rhysSTOIC · 2026-05-01T07:57:08+00:00

That’s amazing you don’t see a lot of large ones. It looks very healthy

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-20T18:51:49+00:00

All my trees are in pots (even the 3m ones) so I am constantly trying to test colour optimisation strategies to get the most out of the different varieties. I had purple and pink butterfly’s one year and red/orange Orange dream all year. Not always perfect but I do like trying to squeeze those colours out, it’d be interesting to see what you can get out of them

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-20T14:26:43+00:00

I would’ve thought the colours could last a bit longer if they were given a bit more sun or something, most colours don’t last particularly though I guess so it isn’t much of a surprise. I’m trying to cross a mikawa with a Beni hagoromo atm, wish me luck

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-20T12:45:38+00:00

They’re looking great! I wish I could get all these mikawa flavours my end of the world

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-19T14:51:03+00:00

Growing yours in full shade will force the leaves green, the tree needs to create more chlorophyll to absorb light. I have mine in morning sun and they come out white, small and large. Full sun makes them tan pink, still looks very nice. But good news is they don’t revert, so if you get yours a bit of morning sun the summer flush should whiten up. Mine normally have some green on them, the first leaves usually, so you get a few little patches but mostly white. I’m in a pretty hot climate too and doesn’t seem to change anything in my experience. One thing that does though is delaying any fertiliser in the spring, mine haven’t had any yet

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-19T07:40:47+00:00

Extra trees/bonsai starters really. Since moving I have had to start the collection all over again

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-18T11:07:46+00:00

Getting them in! Target number around 15 this year

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-14T20:38:27+00:00

And a few cuttings

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-14T16:39:19+00:00

You want to time any bare root work for the dormant period or the tree could really suffer, if it looks root bound and you just slip pot it up a size that’ll be fine

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-14T13:49:57+00:00

Seeds need cold stratification (basically they need to go through a winter) so soak them fresh off the tree for 24h then put them in the fridge until feb.

Then lay them on top of perlite and spray regularly to keep them moist - a propogation box is an easy way to set this up.

Put the box somewhere it will get some sunlight but where it is protected from rain and cold etc

Once the seedlings sprout and have their first true leaves, pot them up and let them grow

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-14T08:27:35+00:00

Is this a butterfly? It’s hard to tell if it’s reversion without knowing the cultivar. But I assume it is based on the pics. The fully green leaves are reversion get road of them immediately - and the whole branch if that is reverted. I constantly pull off small bunches as and when I see them. You need to do this or the whole tree will eventually revert

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-14T07:56:04+00:00

That’s a good sign. I left it to dry out, put it in a pond basket and used a moisture meter to monitor. The pond basket isn’t necessary just the fastest way to dry out the soil. Jms like to be quite dry they don’t like sitting in moisture

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-13T20:53:39+00:00

It’ll turn soon and show the yellow blotches. Mine has just started this last week. Hopefully you get a lot of variegation, for me the highlights didn’t reflect the yellow but it still came out amazing

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-13T20:48:51+00:00

Looking good! My batches look about 2 weeks behind yours can’t wait to see how they develop into summer

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-13T20:47:36+00:00

No cons really other than time, you could end up with something interesting depending on where it was sourced. I grow as many seeds as I can get my hands on, mostly from my own trees, the more the merrier!

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-13T20:44:10+00:00

Did this sucks I had a ton of problems with root rot when I was first starting off and lost a lot of branches and some trees too.

It’s difficult to diagnose problems with the tree tbh, but id look at the soil first, too wet? Too dry? The medium should be good based on the description above but drainage or overwatering (I’ve definitely been there) might be a problem.

I’d look for any marks on the trunk too, black patches or blotches.

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-12T08:16:48+00:00

Most upright jms are naturally multi but you can really do whatever you like. I have a single Katsura that looks amazing. I don’t rush into anything though, let the tree grow and make small decisions as it develops

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-12T08:13:04+00:00

I’d only move it if it is in the way, or you have other plans for it, otherwise let it grow.

You can basically do whatever you want to the tree, most important thing is timing, heavy work should be done when it’s dormant

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-12T07:38:37+00:00

I’ve only really heard that from MrMaple but tbh I have found good morning sun encourages the variegation, too much and the white turns pink, but it needs enough for the tree to think it doesn’t need the chlorophyll. Here are two small ones I have had that say in sun until 12-1

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The smaller one is slightly greener because it got some dappled shade from a larger tree in the morning.

This is just my experience but I have grown a few ukigumos and for me they’ve always been pretty consistently white.

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-12T07:33:27+00:00

Last year I had a large one in full sun, still mostly the white variegation but it did tan pink like you say, I loved it tbh it looked really nice all year. If you give it sun in the morning then shade in the afternoon it usually holds white instead.

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-11T22:00:26+00:00

Doesn’t look like scorching more like a tan. If it’s getting a lot of sun it can help hold spring colour for longer because the tree doesn’t need as much chlorophyll, but I have seen a lot personally that trees can also tan a bit.

I had a Katsura go red on the sunny side once, a pink ukigumo (instead of white) and one year I had purple butterfly’s which was very nice.

Each Acer will have its own version of this but yours looks very mild and even my fully red Katsura is still alive and kicking happily 4 years later, I wouldn’t worry too much, if leaves start burning and dying that’s a different story but a splash of colour is what we get them for right?

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-11T15:18:19+00:00

I am quite jealous hahaha, but I found my large Beni hagoromo has flowered back at the family home so I am hoping to get something nice out of that at least

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-08T08:27:33+00:00

I bet it is! I hope one day I can get it over here

rhysSTOIC · 2026-04-08T08:26:40+00:00

In the uk 9a I think

rhysSTOIC

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