Sweet lorraine

Description

"Deeply cut, glossy purplish-violet leaves that turn orange-brown in autumn. Fast-growing. This variety is often used to create layered specimens in Japanese gardens.
In a previous blog post, I wrote that I didn't know the parent of the Japanese maple 'Sweet Lorraine', but when we repotted the original seedling, we discovered the name Acer palmatum 'Seedling from Amber Ghost' (1999) on a plastic label that had slipped out of view to the bottom of the pot. Nowadays, we identify these seedlings as 'EX Amber Ghost', and we use a different colored label in hopes that the team understands that, although they all look different, the common trait is that they are not all 'Amber Ghost' — just as human siblings are not the same people as their mother. Acer palmatum 'Sweet Lorraine' is a delicate laceleaf maple. New growth is reddish, then later (around mid-June), it transitions to a light green. There are other somewhat similar non-Buchholz cultivars, such as 'Baldsmith' and 'Van den Akker' — both terrible names — but 'Sweet Lorraine' is more dwarf-like, at least under our growing conditions. The original was sold a few years ago in a 20-gallon pot, having grown in the greenhouse to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide in 15 years. It was no longer producing quality grafting scions, not even mediocre ones, so I replaced it with younger scions on vigorous green rootstocks. Do I regret letting go of the original Buchholz introduction? Yes, always. But employees want higher wages, not sweet memories. 'Sweet Lorraine' — what a name. For some reason, it came to me from the popular song by Cliff Burwell (music) and Mitchell Parish (lyrics), published in 1928. Do yourself a favor and look up Nat King Cole – Sweet Lorraine for a lovely rendition — or, for rock fans, try Country Joe's version. Oh darling — Sweet Lorraine!"*

Technical description

Species	Acer matsumurae
Variety	Sweet lorraine
Leaf colour	Purple leaves
Leaf shape	Dissectum
Adult height	Less than 2 meters
Shape	Semi-spread
Exposure	Sun