Customer Reviews

Japanese Maples: Momiji and Kaede

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After looking at the pictures of the book on-line, it appeared to be a publication which was both beautifully photographed and written at an expert level - which would be helpful to the home gardener. Not so. Most of the photographs are of leaves only, not of the whole tree. This makes it less useful as an aid in deciding which varieties might fit into a particular landscape. The written descriptions alone cannot convey the variety and beauty of these trees. Very disappointing. Also, other than inadequate leaf photographs and short varietal summaries, the planting and care sections are woefully short. I have had trouble with leaf burn on my trees, and this book gave no additional insight on how to avoid it other than what I have read in other, less presuming publications. This book does not rise to the level of authority and usefulness in aspires to.

This has been by far the most expensive book I've ever gotten ... not because of its price, but because of the inspiration and information it's given me to become a serious collector of choice Japanese maples. I keep the book in the car so I can refer to it any time I'm in a nursery, to decide which varieties would work best for my needs and situation. I'm thrilled with the results, and have Vertrees and Gregory to thank (or blame???). This is one fabulous book.

Filled with beautiful photos showing examples of hundreds of varieties of Japanese maples, this book is a treasure trove of information. This book features a plethura of information on care, maintenance, placement and characteristics of the many different Japanese maples available in an easy to understand format, that is also a pleasure to read. Vertrees manages to instill in the reader the same level of enthusiasm that he obviously fees for his subject, and, in fact, I can't wait until Spring to order some trees for my own garden!

Having the good fortune to own a property perfect for the cultivation of Japanese Maples, I was thrilled to find this exceptional book chock full of beautiful photos and detailed descriptions of numerous cultivars. I especially appreciate the summary pages in the back that rate the plants by color, suitability for companion plantings, dramatic effect in the garden, etc. With the web at our disposal, it is now possible to find many of the cultivars the author highlights, making for a very rewarding combination.

Japanese Maples (Third Edition) does contain more pages, more words, and larger type. Unfortunately, the revision author, English writer Peter Gregory, lets his biases and ego show. Instead of improving on Vertrees' work, he has rewritten large portions of the text, removing some of the data and substituting sloppy verbiage and English gardening jargon. Example: the removal of 'samara' replacing it with 'nutlet.' Why? It serves no purpose and 'samara' is the correct term, which Mr. Vertrees explained in his original work. Substituting an alphabetical listing of all Acer Palmatums for the groupings that Vertrees used makes it more difficult to find an appropriate maple for any given garden situation because you have to know the name--and who knows the names of more than 400 plants and what they look like? Many of the new cultivars that have been added are not accompanied by photos, including some of the plants Mr. Gregory describes as being oldest and most well-known. In the Growing Section, Mr. Gregory states that containerized maples require only average care. Yet further on in that section, he states that one should not leave containerized plants unattended for periods of time (such as vacations!). That doesn't sound like average care.

In my opinion, this is some of the sloppiest work I have seen in years.

Since I have owned and relied on a valued Second Edition for the past 14 years, I am returning this book.