Still a Chinese Liquid Amber ???

[Tamnewbie]

I used to have 2 very healthy Liquid Ambers, one normal one and one Chinese, however while I was away the Chinese one was not noticed and was VERY unwell when I returned. I kept watering it, giving it every bonsai first-aid I could think of and hoping, but after months the trunk was still feeling very dry and brown inside, I gave up and pulled iy out of the pot to dispose of it when I seen some tiny new shoots under t he soil surface. After doing a Happy dance, I quickly cut the trunk back and repotted it and it shot away very well. BUT it has no scent and the new growth is not purple but green. Ive checked the roots up to the trunk and it doesn't appear to have been grafted. Can they be? Can anyone tell me what has happened to my beautiful Chinese Liquid Amber that it now appears to be a normal one. Sorry for not using the correct botanical names. As my name suggests, I am a Newbie!! Thank you in advance

[shibui]

There are at least 4 species of liquidamber. They grow so easily from cuttings that I would be surprised if anyone propagated them by grafting. If I am correct and your tree is a cutting then it can only grow back as the same species/tree as it started out. If it was grafted then probably the rootstock has sprouted and you now have a different species (same as the other one?)
It is possible that new growth can look different from older growth and may confuse you?? The species do look different at different times of the year so it is possible that summer growth looks different now from spring growth??

[Hackimoto]

My guess is that it is not a Liquidambar at all. No scent and I have never heard of a purple liquidambar except in autumn colour. I might have been a grafted Acer palmatum atropurpureum. Japanese maple. Can you post a pic of the leaves?

[Lane]

I think by new growth they may mean the tiny new shoots that aren't yet green but have the dark colour as they just unfurl.

[Tamnewbie]

Thank you all for your help. I cant post pictures, but the one that has "come back from the dead" has a 3 point leaf and as the leaves mature they are starting to have a scent,
Thanks again