St. Bernadette

St. Bernadette is one of Bob McCaffrey's beautiful "gifts" to Japanese maple lovers everywhere. Found in Closter, NJ in 2013, this matsumurae type leaf emerges with a purple and green color combination with green tinged veins and stems. Fall colors are curiously if not consistently yellow and orange. My wonderful friend Brian of Pages Run Nursery said that Bob described the original broom as being tightly branched and ball shaped. After a few years, mine is perfectly round, slow growing, with curiously curling stems not unlike Beni Ori Zuru, but with different leaf structure.