Ghost Maples

I have been an avid Japanese Maple enthusiast since 1984 when I first moved to Washington State. I loved all of the colors and shapes, but the cost was too much for me on a reduced income from starting a new job. So I applied for a wholesale nursery license. Even with this tool I couldn't afford to buy the number of maples I wanted.

In 1985 I attended my first FarWest show in Portland, Oregon and I bought a ticket for a seminar about Japanese Maples with Talon Buchholz as the speaker. Talon used a slide projector [no powerpoint back then] to show his beautiful photos of wonderful maples.

During his presentation a fire alarm went off [no fire, just a false alarm] and everyone had to exit the building to the outside. Right outside the exit door was a bench. I sat down and Talon sat down next to me and we chatted for more than 20 minutes while it was determined the building was not on fire. So with this unusual event I decided to start my own nursery.

As I am a one woman operation [my husband builds the greenhouses, but does not help with the maples] I began small with one 20'x50' quonset style greenhouse. About 10 years ago we added a second greenhouse this one a 30'x75' gable syle structure. It was around this time that I added my first Ghost maples to my collection. I do not do my own grafting, although I have been sucessful. It makes more sense, both time and energy-wise, to buy grafted liners from Talon. Talon's nursery is about 90 miles from my home and I plan my visits eagerly to see all of the new cultivars and wander around the grounds admiring everything. I particularly enjoy my trip when Talon is available for conversation or a quick tour to see the original Fairy Hair maple, now 20 years old.

But this blog is about Ghost maples. These are some of my favorite cultivars because of the variegation in the leaves and the changing colors throughout the season. First Ghost is exquisite and nearly translucent. Sister Ghost has very soft lacely looking leaves and Grandma Ghost changes from one month of light green leaves to those that develop purple centers. Amber Ghost is beautiful with the darker lavendar and purple leaf color, plus the dark purple bark. Purple Ghost is a ruffled purple leaf that deepens to dark purple in late spring. All of the Ghosts have reticulated leaves. This term is used to describe the visibility of the veins of the leaves - like a skeleton.

Spring is nearly here and I anxious to see what new and wonderful colors appear. If you love Japanese Maples, please visit us at www.eastforknursery.com