Japanese Maples: The Complete Guide to Selection and Cultivation, Fourth Edition [Hardcover]

This book just keeps getting thicker and thicker with each release! Now it's a hefty textbook size. The quality of the paper and colors in the book is quite good. As far as the information contained within, it's in the same vein as the previous versions. I have the 2nd version only, so compared to that, it's similar, if not better organized. The authors have expanded on the first few chapters of the book, regarding the history, and care of maples, but it's basically just added information to the previous text (a lot of it is verbatim from the earlier edition). I like how the cultivars are now organized simply by name. I'm not sure if this was something done in the 3rd ed, but in the 2nd, the cultivars were broken down into leaf shape, and then alphabetical. This was more difficult for me, and really served no purpose (in my opinion). The layout now makes more sense. The information for each cultivar is similar to previous editions. A couple of paragraphs with factual information regarding leaf type, shape, sun/shade requirements, etc. And of course, it includes a lot more than previous editions, as new cultivars are introduced.

The book does have a few drawbacks though. My biggest gripe is with some of the photos. Though most are beautiful and accurate glossy photos, some are way overly photoshopped. Many people will make their maple selections based on what they think the leaves will look like, and some of the photos are so over the top, the reader will surely be disappointed when they see their maple in reality does not show the brilliant coloration as in the photo. One example is the photo of Ap Crimson Queen. You will clearly see the color "dial" in photoshop was turned to maximum, as the colors just simply look too saturated. There are plenty of other photos in the book which do not reflect the true nature of the plant illustrated. Comparing to my own collection, it is clear some of the book's photos have been tweaked to bring out aspects of the leaf which may not normally be so striking.

Another nit-picky problem I have is with some of the name changes. Though perhaps scientifically and technically correct, changing some of the names around just makes it confusing. I have known "Ap Aka Shigitatsusawa" to be Aka Shigitatsusawa for a long time, and that is the way most nurserys (online and physical) call it. But the author made a specific point to rename this selection Ap Beni Shigitatsusawa. It may be technically correct, but trying to find the former in the book leads to a dead end. There are other examples of this, and it's nit-picky I know...but perhaps they could have better led the reader to the new, corrected entry.

Overall, this is a nice, high quality book with good information. Though some of the photos could be more realistic, most are fine and only add to the information. It's one of the best quick reference books and makes a nice coffee table book. If you are a Japanese maple enthusiast, you'll find this book to be very good and full of good information.

It's very nice of Peter Gregory to continue to give J.D. Vertrees so much credit. This book is the bible of Japanese Maple enthusiasts and collectors all over the world. This edition is much more comprehensive than the 3rd edition and the quality of photos is excellent. However, I was disappointed that many of the stable and worthy North American cultivars aren't mentioned and hope they will be included in subsequent editions. Still, this fourth edition is a terrific resource.

As a landscape designer, a critical part of my work is in recognizing the subtle differences between plants and what they do, so that I can play off the most unique attributes and make a garden that feels different and unusual, while still using plant varieties that my clients will actually be able to find locally.

Choosing plants you know will thrive, while still incorporating a sense of inspiration and newness into each garden is a delicate balance. Books like this one are invaluable in choosing the most appropriate variety, or in choosing a substitute if something I love goes out of stock.

I've owned the third edition of this book for many years, and I go back to it time and again, because I've found the information available for free online spotty and inconsistent. This latest edition is packed with over 600 varieties, many of which are new and currently available in the trade. They've added 150 cultivars since the last edition came out, and I've looked up the unusual varieties I know of and some old standbys, and found them all present.

The most helpful part of this book is undoubtedly the photos of each variety. There are over 500 photos in the book, and in the encyclopedia section, it seems like two-thirds of the varieties listed have an accompanying photo, which is great for helping me expand my horizons and try new maples (even in bare root season when you can't see the leaves!).

Another thing I love is the guide in back which lists every variety in the encyclopedia in a chart, so if I'm looking for a red maple that doesn't get taller than 8 feet, I can just refer to the back of the book. I'm a little grouchy that I have to translate from the metric system to unravel heights, but ah well - we should probably join the rest of the world in their oh-so-civilized units of measurement anyway, so it's good practice.

Also? I was totally charmed by a few pages towards the back which list translations for common Japanese Maple cultivar names. One maple I love for its upright yet dwarf habit is `Beni Maiko', which means "deep red dancing girl". Another maple, `Beni kumo-no-su', means "deep red spider cloud of webs". How cool is that?

If you have an older edition of this book, I'd definitely recommend upgrading, as the new edition is about a half inch thicker than the old one and has so many more photos. Having so many new varieties listed is a real help as well.

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