Japanese Maples

This is one of the most beautiful small trees for the ornamental landscape. It is perfectly suited as a specimen tree, an accent in a mixed border, or in a container on the patio. It anchors the Japanese style garden. Many of the cultivars remain quite small and are especially useful in small gardens, even rock gardens, and for bonsai. The brilliant autumn foliage lights up the garden, and the slender twigs and contorted branches provide winter interest. The Dissectum Tamukeyama is a strongly cascading selection which holds up very well under high heat and humidity. It is generally considered to be the most heat tolerant of the red laceleaf dissectums; and the best choice for the warmer climates but does very well in Ireland and Britain. The new foliage is deep crimson red changing to dark purple-red. Beautiful bright scarlet autumn coloration. A very hardy plant reaching 10-12' with age. Click the image to read more!

Also known as Coral Tower or Coral Bark, this beautiful Japanese maple is understandably popular for its bright coral red bark in winter, pale yellow-green leaf in spring and apricot and gold leaf in the Autumn. Sango Kaku offers year round interest with the striking feature of this cultivar being the ever changing colours from spring through summer and Autumn. It is strong grower in youth. If planted in a container the height may reach 6 to 10 feet and within a landscape can reach a height of 16 to 20 feet. Click the image to read more!

This is one of the most beautiful small trees for the ornamental landscape. It is perfectly suited as a specimen tree, an accent in a mixed border, or in a container on the patio. It anchors the Japanese style garden. Many of the cultivars remain quite small and are especially useful in small gardens, even rock gardens, and for bonsai. The brilliant autumn foliage lights up the garden, and the slender twigs and contorted branches provide winter interest. Click the image to read more!

Red Select, (Leaves of Rice Plant) is one of the old Japanese cultivars, Inaba shidare is very different in habit from the other dissectums. It would make a tree even if not staked, its habit undulates upward, and yet it retains the weeping effect. The deep ruby red of the leaves holds all summer and the bright red petioles set off the color quite nicely. It is easy to grow, takes the hot sun and humidity well, and makes an outstanding container tree. Click the image to read more!

An outstanding cultivar and one of the oldest still available in the trade. It also has, perhaps the most brilliant scarlet fall colour and greatest vigor of any Japanese maple. Large leaves give it a bold appearance all year. It is a very famous, yet uncommon Japanese Maple cultivated for centuries in Japan. Most of the growing season the foliage color is a rich green. Its leaves are large, seven-lobed and palmate. It reaches an average height of 12 to 15 ft. It prefers a sheltered position in rich acidic, moisture-retaining soil. Click the image to read more!

Bright red-maroon thread-like foliage may have green overlay for summer. The autumn colors are breathtaking. All of a sudden, this red tree turns a brilliant golden-yellow, touched and spotted with crimson. Red Pygmy is outstanding in containers, and in Japanese gardens it cant be beat! Small to about 6 feet in a container and a little larger in the landscape. Click the image to read more!

If you're looking for a pretty little Maple that adds something a bit different to your garden then this could be the plant for you. Attractive grey green leaves with a white edge which in turn edged in pink. Forms a small upright tree. First Class award from the RHS. Sometimes known as Kagiri Nishiki, this is a very narrow and upright growing small tree to 10-12' tall. Leaves are small and irregularly shaped. New leaves are strikingly suffused with pink and white. Summer foliage is dark green with an irregular white margin on the leaves. Fall color is not significant. Its color and variegation is not as showy as other variegated trees. It is more of a delicate appearing collectors’ item for those who like variegated trees. Click the image to read more!

This is one of the most beautiful small trees for the ornamental landscape. It is perfectly suited as a specimen tree, an accent in a mixed border, or in a container on the patio. It anchors the Japanese style garden. Many of the cultivars remain quite small and are especially useful in small gardens, even rock gardens, and for bonsai. The brilliant autumn foliage lights up the garden, and the slender twigs and contorted branches provide winter interest. A small to medium sized variegated maple; it is the red-tinged form of Shigitatsu Sawa. As the bud first opens the inner bud scales and new leaves are maroon. When fully opened the typical color of the leaves is variegated yellow with pink to red highlights. The leaves are reticulated, however, the veins are not prominently displayed in the new growth. The striking feature of this cultivar is the ever changing colors from spring through summer to autumn.  Each tree seems to have its own particular variegation depending upon the amount and type of sunlight. Summer heat creates a dark maroon color for the new growth with existing leaves turning to various shades of green. Trees that are grown in more shade will display new growth with lavender highlights. Recommended sun exposure is in the morning with some shade protection in the hot afternoon sun. Estimated height in 10 years is 8' with a width of the same size. A true kaleidoscope of color for maple lovers. Prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. Click the image to read more!

Acer palmatum 'Ukigumo' is perhaps the most extreme of the variegated Japanese maples. The leaves are sometimes nearly all-white, with merest flecks of green. Sometimes the leaves have much more green with extravagant white markings with (especially in early spring) pink tips & highlights. An extremely young sapling is usually greenleafed without much variegation, but soon after its third year it will become variegated with a vengeance. The ten year height of this small tree can be usually a few feet, though it might in the very long run reach fifteen feet. It can be multi-trunked & rather wide-limbed, hence more of a shrub than a tree, although this depends greatly on how it is trained, since a young developing specimen can be trained with as many or as few trunks as the gardener decides. Click the image to read more!