Have you considered any of the reticulated varieties?

A.p. 'Shigitatsu sawa'
A.p. 'Grandma Ghost'
A.p. 'Alpine Silver Thread'

Hi Kaitain, I considered Shigitatsu sawa as well. How does it hold it's reticulated variegation? Grandma Ghost is a little too pale for what I had in mind, and it's leaves show lots of "deformities" on several online pictures. I don't want to sound picky, but a deformed leave catches my eye faster than anything else, I just can't help it.. :-)
I didn't find a picture of Alpine Silver Thread. May I ask which one of the variegated ones you would pick if you had the choice?

One thing to consider is that there are varying degrees of variegation - 'Ukigumo' tends to be more speckled than clearly marked and as a result, can sometimes appear just muddied in color from a distance. 'Orido Nishiki' (Oridono Nishiki) or 'Butterfly' may be more what you are looking for but my favorite for variegation is 'Karasu gawa'. Any of these may produce sickle-shaped leaves with the new growth. These do a look a bit deformed until they mature and often cause new JM owners concern. And ON has a tendency to produce solid green growth that must be removed.

While not variegated in the strict sense, the reticulatums do show off well against a darker background. And there's a lot of newer cultivars on the market. 'Peaches and Cream' may be just what you're looking for. And it gets great fall color, which other variegated J. maples don't generally produce.

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Peaches and Cream'

Try Acer palmatum 'Butterfly'.

Bboy - I think I prefer a little more variegation than Butterfly seems to offer. It's interesting that there are not that many white variegated JM, given all the other colors that are available.

Well, I went ahead and bought a Shigitatsu sawa and a Ukigumo, both very small plants. That way I can decide what maple I will prefer for a more mature specimen. Thanks a lot for all your help and advice.

'Butterfly' gives the appearance of having a lot of white because just about every leaf is white all the way around the margin.

Vertrees, JAPANESE MAPLES called it "very spectacular" and "One of the most reliable and desirable cultivars of the variegated group", reporting that "this dainty and attractive tree always brings comments from visitors".

Dang, bboy, now I am starting to second guess my choice from yesterday...again! LOL. OK OK, I'll get a Butterfly as well, but it's all your fault. :-) Thank you!

Marc

If you want splashy the one that has knocked people out in my region in recent years is 'Oridono-nishiki'. I ordered one for my mother once but I think the plant received was actually 'Versicolor'. After some years of observation it was removed.

Marc,

Great decision to try both. I have both, and I love both of them. The variegation on Shigitasu sawa will hold longer if it is located in shade. Even when it gets mostly green its a much lighter green. Ukigomo is more consistantly specked and spotted with white.

I also have an Oridon nishiki but have not had it long enough to make a judegement call.

I personally do not like 'Butterfly'. Up close it is fairly interesting, but from a distance it looks like the color of a dirty athletic sock!! I do not plan to have it in my garden. In its place I have 'Tennyo no hoshi', which I think is far superior. It has crisp blue-green leaves with a thin rim of green around the edge. Very appealing. Grows to be the same size as 'Butterfly'.

I also like 'Higasayama' - this is a very old cultivar. Has wonderful flowers and seeds as well as cream-edged leaves with some pink early int he season. The leaf buds are the color of red lacquer when they open in the spring, and the effect of the white leaves unfurling with the red buds has led to the nick name of 'pop-corn maple'.

Finally, if you would like a darker plant I would suggest 'Elmwood'. This one has medium green leaves with very dark reticulation. The leaves are also very glossy, which is unusual for a JM. As the leaves age, the effect is almost like green wood-grain. I love this one!

And if you would like to try a red reticulated cultivar, I would suggest 'Kasagi yama'. It has an unusual brick-salmon-red color (no other tree has coloration like this) with black veins, and the leaves are not deformed like the Ghost series. It would be stunning paired with 'Elmwood' or 'Shigitatsu sawa'!!

Take care,

K4

Correction - 'Tennyo no hoshi' has a thin rim of WHITE around the edge - not green! My bad...

I actually decided to buy the same two varieties, the Ukigumo and the Shigitatsu sawa. My local nursery had one of each in stock. Size are both #2 pot, 30" tall. Since it's been 13 years, how do the saplings you bought then look now?