Goodbye, Shishigashira

I can't hide it any longer. My lovely shishigasira lion's head maple tree has died. Only the lower branches came back last year after a very cold and very wet winter, and this year those few branches didn't make it either. I had to admit it. The lovely five-foot tree was gone.

What happened? It was planted in a lower spot where a cottonwood stump had been removed, and it was surrounded by hardy ground cover. That meant that the pounds and pounds of snow that covered the roots just stayed there and flooded it with too much water in spring.  I read much later that the lion's head maple doesn't like it's feet to be kept wet.

I have the old photos of it, but now realize I planted it in the wrong place. It should also have had more sun.  

How many of you have had better success with these trees?

Lion's Head Maple, Shishigashira, Ojishi

Another view of the Japanese Lion's Head Maple in the backyard.


Click on the pictures to see the crinkly leaves in detail.

The Shishigashira above is still thriving under the shade of taller trees, surrounded by a ground cover that keeps its roots moist.


Click here for more picture of the Lion's Head Maple.

Shishigashira, Lion's Head Maple, Fall colors

I took the picture below of the Japanese Lion's Head Maple last November, when the dark green leaves had turned a bright copper. This tree is partly shaded by an oak and a mulberry tree, and seems to do well. It's only about 6 feet tall. The lion's head maple was a chosen in 2003 as one of the Great Plant Picks of the year.

Click on the pictures to see the mounded, crinkly leaves in detail.







The Shishigashira, fall and summer, is thriving under the shade of taller trees, surrounded by a ground cover that keeps its roots moist.

For a website that has interesting details on the Sacred Lion's Head Maple and the importance of maple trees in Japanese culture, see the website: http://www.paghat.com/lionmaple.html/

Click here for more pictures of the Lion's Head Maple.

Shishigashira, Lion's Head Maple

The entry below was made June 2007 from Book Bird Dog, my first blog, and gets the most hits from readers. I have included it here to start this new, Mostly Gardening blog, Wood and Water, which will be about plants, homegrown and in the wild.

Acer Palmatum Shishigashira


An ojishi in my backyard!!

I bought the unusual maple many years ago (it was expensive! and there were only two in the lot). It's now about 6 feet tall and trying to get taller. I took a close-up shot of its unusual leaves this spring. You can see the leaves curl one on top of the other and give the impression of a shaggy lion's mane. A few of the stems are showing new growth.

The tree sits in a shady spot under a large overhanging oak, and only gets sun part of the day. But it seems to be thriving and is not at all straggly.

Here's what I found about the history of this cultivar:

"After 125 years in cultivation, the famous Lion's Head Maple is still acknowledged as one of the best and most unique Japanese maple cultivars. It is a compact, slow-growing shrub, usually to around 6', though taller trees are possible with good cultivation. By 'compact', we mean that the leaves are closely packed on the twigs, and the twigs closely-packed on the branches. This leads to a tufted look: clusters of leaves alternating with leafless areas of branch. The leaves themselves are small, deep green, and crinkled, thickly textured. No wimpy sunburning here. The transition to fall color is like caterpillar to butterfly, with the deep reds and oranges completely changing the visual effect." from http://worldplants.com/shishi.htm

Click here for more pictures of the Lion's Head Maple.