Does Blue Japanese Maple Exist?

Its nice is not it? But is it real? Seeds of the supposed blue japanese maple, as if it were a new variety. However, when you try to find the name of the aforementioned, you simply cannot find it. Why?

Following a question they asked in one of the articles we have about the japanese maple, I started to investigate.

Are there blue plants?

Blue is present in nature, of course. In the case of plants, but, we will only see blue flowers. This is because the flowers are produced in order to attract pollinating insects. This fight for the survival of the species can be very intense, since in a meadow there are several species of plants that have the same objective: to be pollinated.

Despite their importance, the flower season is limited. Plants must be able to have chlorophyll to live, since the petals also do not have this chemical. Chlorophyll is what gives the green color to its leaves, and the one that allows them to breathe. Without it, plants would not exist (at least, not as we know them).

Where does the blue Japanese maple come from?

We might think that these photos are retouched with Photoshop or any other similar program, but the reality is that newer cameras have a color swap feature, which allows the user to change any color for another. The result is so natural that it looks like it really is a blue Japanese maple, when in fact it does not exist.

It may also happen that, depending on where the sun is positioned at the time the photo is taken, it makes us think that the red color of the leaves is blue.

Japanese maples are highly decorative and highly sought after plants. It is likely that after fake of the blue Japanese maple are invented any other in order to sell more. Don't be fooled by them. Whenever you have doubts, ask what variety it is and look it up online. If you find it the first time and you also see that there are many results and images, perfect, if not, be suspicious.

Japanese Maple Cultivars of Different Colors

El Acer palmatum It is a species of which there are about 1000 cultivars different. Most are shrubs that do not exceed 5 meters in height, but there are some that do become trees of ten meters or a little less. All of them can have leaves of very different colors, even variegated. Now, you should know that the shades of red, green and yellow predominate. These are some of the ones we recommend:

RED

• Beni hime: it is a small shrub that does not exceed one meter in height. Its leaves are red in spring.
• blood good: this is a tree of about 10 meters. The leaves turn reddish in spring and fall, but are greener in summer.
• Chikuman: it is a nice shrub 3-5 meters high. It has reddish or purple leaves.
• Garnet: it is a shrub or small tree of 4-5 meters. Its leaves are red all year round.
• kinran: it is a 3-5 meter shrub that turns red in autumn.

Green and / or yellow

• Akane: it is a small shrub 2-3 meters high whose leaves are green in summer, but yellowish with pink tips in autumn.
• Aureum: it is a medium tree 6-8 meters high, with green leaves that turn yellowish (almost yellow) in autumn.
• beni chidori: it is a small tree 4-6 meters high, which during the year has green leaves but in autumn they turn yellow-orange. Its branches, which are red in color, also attract attention.
• Globosum: it is a 1-2 meter tall shrub with green leaves.
• Kotohime: it is a small shrub whose height does not exceed 2 meters. The leaves are green, except in autumn when they turn orange.

Variegated

• beni shigitatsu sawa: it is a 3-4 meter tall shrub with reddish / pink, green and yellowish leaves in spring. During the summer they are green / reddish and then in the autumn they are red-orange.
• Butterfly: it is a small tree 6 meters high that has green and white leaves, and in autumn reddish with some green spots.
• and Geisha slot: it is a 1-2 meter tall shrub that produces red or purple leaves with lighter margins.
• hikasa-yama: it is a 6-9 meter tall tree with leaves that appear chlorotic, but are not: its nerves remain green, but the rest are greenish-whitish. In some specimens the margins remain white.
• Purple ghost: it is a shrub 4 meters high. Its leaves, as the name suggests, are purple, but have a darker colored margins.

Do you want to know which ones are more? If so, we recommend the book Japanese Maples: The complete guide to selection and cultivation. As you may have guessed, it is in English, but it is a gem for those who want to learn absolutely everything (characteristics, cultivars, care, etc.) about the Japanese maple. In addition, there are many photos of excellent quality. Do not stay without it. Click here.