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The Maple Society Newsletter● Autumn/Fall 2021 ● Vol. 31/3 23
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The Maple Society Newsletter● Autumn/Fall 2021 ● Vol. 31/3 23
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Peeling bark of Acer caudatum at Topke Gola. Acer pectinatum in fruit at Topke Gola.
not to say that all the others have failed. It has been my experience that the collecting of seed and its introduction and distribution is generally the easiest part of the plant hunter’s job while that of keeping tabs on its germination and subsequent history can sometimes prove frustratingly nebulous. A more fulsome account of the above expedition is given in the author’s book A Plantsman in Nepal, a revised edition of which was published in 1995 by the Antique Collectors Club Ltd. 
Paradise Valley above Topke Gola village.
SOCIETY NEWS
Questionaire Summary
by Hugh Angus
Firstly my thanks for all those of you that contributed to the survey. Over 40 members responded to the survey. The answers have been most helpful to the editorial team and have given us several things to think about. Secondly we need to give our thanks to Graham for putting the questionnaire on our web site and co-ordinating the results with the help of ‘Survey Monkey’. I hope the information below all makes sense but if not then please email me. If anyone has other comments that they wish to add we are always pleased to get more, at any time.
How long have you been a member of The Maple Society?
u Six years or more, 51. 28%.
u 2 - 5 years, 28. 21%.
u Less than two years, 20. 51%. Would you prefer to have the newsletter as a PDF fi le? This could produce a good saving for the society and allow us to channel more funds into Maple Conservation.
u Yes - 51. 28%.
u No - 48. 72%.
The rising cost of printing and distribution of the newsletter, which is funded by membership, means that The Society has less money to channel into areas of maple study and research. As a member, would you be happy to accept a slight increase in membership cost in order to enable The Society to keep producing the hard copy of the newsletter?
u Yes - 82. 50%.
u No - 17. 50%.
What interests you most?
u Maple species, 52. 50%.
u Maple cultivars, 42. 50%.
u Other (please specify), 5. 00%.
Have we got the right balance between cultivars and species?
u About right - 82. 05%.
u Too much about species - 7. 69%.
u Too much about cultivars - 10. 26%
What sort of improvements would you like to see to the newsletter?
u None, I am happy as it is - 30. 00%
u More articles about the growing and cultivation of maples - 47. 50%
u A letters/news page so that members can comment on newsletter related items - 35. 00%
u Please tell us about other articles or changes that you would like to see - 22. 50%
The last question above is in some ways the most interesting and the most helpful to us. We had diff erent answers to this question and I have listed below what I consider to be the most representative. Some of the individual comments are given below.
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Over the next few months we shall certainly be trying to meet more of your requests and would welcome your feedback on this. We are very keen to have a letters page and will say more on this in
The Maple Society Newsletter● Autumn/Fall 2021 ● Vol. 31/3 25
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More articles about the growing and cultivation of maples. (Around 40% of members asked for this)
A letters/news page so that members can comment on newsletter related items. (Around 30% of members asked for this)
More emphasis on cultivars as this is where the MS will encourage new members. The species trees are important, but if the MS is to expand then it has to reach out to the general public who are drawn to Japanese Maples at their local nursery/ garden centre in the fi rst instance.
It would be interesting to hear how professionals set up and run their nurseries, so perhaps an occasional feature on this? More news from the North American Branch would be good and perhaps features about arboretums / nurseries from the owners?
The addition of a problems page, assuming that members do experience cultivation problems from time to time. That is from “actual" personal experience and not a textbook piece from J. D. Vertrees.
More articles on new varieties of Acer palmatum; Articles by growers on propagation
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methods that they use. ”
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26 The Maple Society Newsletter ● Autumn/Fall 2021 ● Vol. 31/3
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