Japanese Maple - Acer Palmatum - Sango-Kaku - Coral Bark

Of easy cultivation, it succeeds in most soils preferring a good moist well-drained soil on the acid side and partial shade. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Chlorosis can sometimes develop as a result of iron deficiency when the plants are grown in alkaline soils, but in general maples are not fussy as to soil pH. Requires some shelter in the cooler areas of Britain and protection from cold drying winds. Plants are hardy to about -25°c, but spring growth is subject to damage by late frosts. Grows well with rhododendrons. Most maples are bad companion plants, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. Like other Japanese maples, it needs a sunny or partially shaded spot which is protected from cold winds. The soil should be moist but well-drained. It is suitable for growing in a large container, but must be kept well-watered. Japanese maple cultivars provide interesting variations in leaf color and pattern but most are slow growers. A tendency to leaf out early makes these maples susceptible to spring frosts. Protect them from drying winds and direct sun. Plant in a sheltered spot, away from cold winds. Dig in a hole twice the size of the root ball, add well-rotted organic matter and stake when young. Do not allow to dry out while it is getting established. Protect young trees from winter frost with a 10cm mulch of organic matter, taking care to leave space around the trunk of the tree.

Species: palmatum

Type: deciduous shrub or small tree

Acer

Height: 20 to 25’
Width: 15 to 20’

Growth Rate: Moderate to slow

Sun to modest shade; prefers moist well drained soil but tolerates a range of soil types including sand and heavy clay; drought tolerant.

Simple palmate leaves with 7 narrow pointed lobes; yellow gold fall colour. Coral red winter bark; colour intensifies in cold weather to almost salmon; best color in full sun; sometimes mistakenly called Corallinum.

Acer palmatum is famous for its autumn display of color when leaves turn brilliant shades of scarlet, yellow or orange. This is an extremely variable species with several naturally occurring varieties and hundreds of selected cultivars. Popular cultivars include those with reddish purple leaves, and some with red or purple twigs. Some have leaves that are dissected all the way to the midrib. The Japanese maple is the most popular garden maple. Its compact size, pretty lacy foliage, brilliant fall color and picturesque branch architecture find favor among gardeners everywhere. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree with a broad, rounded shape. The canopy is wispy and delicate, and in some cultivars, weeping. The species usually stays about 15-20 ft (4.6-6 m) tall and wide, but can get larger under ideal conditions, or much smaller depending on the cultivar. Japanese maple has slender, glabrous twigs and smooth gray bark. Branches tend to grow in horizontal layers, and often are contorted and twisted, and some specimens have more than one main trunk. The palmate leaves are 2-5 in long and wide, and deeply dissected with 5 to 11 lobes. The lobes are lance shaped, sharply pointed at the tips and doubly toothed on the edges. Leaves vary in shape depending on the cultivar.

None Known

Most Japanese maple cultivars are grafted on to special root stocks. They also can be propagated by rooting softwood cuttings in spring and summer. Japanese maple will grow from seeds, and seedlings tend to be faster growing, stronger and more drought tolerant than the cultivars and many are just as interesting. You take your chances with seeds!

'Atrolinear' (Willow Leaf) - Long, narrow-lobed leaves are red-orange in color on an upright tree.
'Atropurpureum' - Seedlings vary in size, color and leaf shape. Usually a vigorous, red-leaved, upright plant.
'Beni schichihenge' - The leaves are orange with white margins on a small tree.
'Bloodgood' - A popular upright cultivar with large, deep red leaves. The leaves are red in spring but become purple in summer. The seeds have red wings and the fall color is crimson.
'Burgundy Lace' - A small, low-branched, spreading tree with red, deeply-divided leaves that have serrated edges. The fall color is red.
'Butterfly' - A small tree with blue-green leaves variegated with white and a hint of pink. In the fall, the white margins turn bright magenta. Grow in full sun or light shade.
'Chiba' - A small, globe-shaped tree with tiny leaves. Useful in containers.
'Chishio' - Only four feet tall, this twiggy plant has red new growth which turns gree in summer and then red in the fall. Provide protection from winter winds.
'Corallinum' - A small, tree with changing foliage color; pink in the spring, green with slight speckled variations in summer and red in the fall.
'Crimson Prince' - A hardy selection with more vigor and a deeper red color than 'Bloodgood'.
'Deshojo' - An upright tree with bright red new foliage that turns green, red fall color.
Dissectum 'Crimson Queen' - A mounding plant with finely dissected foliage that retains its red color during the summer.
Dissectum 'Ever Red' - A red-leaved cultivar with finely dissected leaves.
Dissectum 'Filigree' - The leaves are edged with white and yellow. A gold fall color.
Dissectum 'Flavescens' - The weeping tree has cut leaves that turn yellow to orange in the fall. The tree will be 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
Dissectum 'Garnet' - A spreading plant with large, garnet-colored leaves.
Dissectum 'Germaine's' - A green dissectum with slightly twisting branches, becoming wider than tall.
Dissectum 'Green Lace' - A small plant with cut, green leaves.
Dissectum 'Red Filigree Lace' - A slow-growing, maple with maroon, thread-like foliage throughout the growing season.
Dissectum 'Red Dragon' - This 5-foot plant has purple foliage through the growing season. The foliage is bright red in autumn.
Dissectum 'Seiryu' - An upright, green-leaved cultivar with a yellow and red fall color.
Dissectum 'Tamukeyama' - A weeping, cut leaf form with purple foliage that turns red in the fall. The plant will be 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide.
Dissectum 'Viridis' - A mound form with bright green leaves and a yellow and red fall color.
'Fireglow' - An upright cultivar with bright red foliage throughout the summer.
'Hagoromo' - This ten-foot tall plant plant has green, feathery leaves that turn yellow and orange in the fall.
'Kagiri nishiki' - An vase-shaped tree with small pink and white variegated leaves.
'Karasugawa' - The new growth light pink with older leaves mottled white and pink. The stems are also pink and cream, somewhat tender.
'Katsura' - Small, five-lobed leaves are yellow-orange, turning green. Fall color is yellow and orange.
'Linearilobum' - Narrow, lobed, green leaves.
'Moonfire' - This upright plant will reach a height and spread of 15 feet. The foliage is deep purple.
'Okagami' - A ten-foot tall plant. The new growth is reddish, turns dark red until late summer then becomes green before turning red in the fall.
'Okushimo' (Crispa) - A narrow upright tree with intense golden fall color. Good for narrow sites.
'Oshio-beni' - A medium-sized, upright tree with bright red leaves that turn scarlet in the fall.
'Osakazuki' - An upright tree with with large, seven- lobed leaves that are bright red in the fall.
'Sharp's Pygmy' - A miniature that originated as a seedling selection from the Sharp Nursery, Boring Oregon. A compact, densely branched, rounded shrub with deep red fall foliage color.
'Red Pygmy' - A broad tree with narrow, maroon leaves. Branches producing the large, palmate-type leaves will produce the narrower leaves the following year.
Dissectum (Red Select) 'Inaba shidare' - A vigorous laceleaf with leaves through the summer then turning bright red in the fall.
'Sango-kaku' - (Coral Bark Maple) - An upright cultivar with coral-red bark and yellow fall color.
'Shaina' - This cultivar originated as a witch's broom on a 'Bloodgood'. It has dark-red leaves and a dense, layered look.
'Sherwood Flame' - A vigorous, small tree with deeply divided, red leaves. A selection by Will Curtis, Sherwood, Oregon.
'Shigitatsu sawa' - A small tree yellowish-green leaves that have prominent green veins and green speckling. The fall leaf color is red.
'Shindeshojo' - A small tree only 6 feet tall. The foliage is red in the spring, becoming green with white flecks in summer then turning red and orange in autumn.
'Shishigashira' - Upright branches bear dark green, crinkled leaves that turn bright orange in late fall.
'Suminagashi' - The deeply-lobed leaves are various shades of purplish red to maroon throughout the growing season.
'Tobiosho' - An upright tree with scarlet fall color. A 1982 selection by Iseli Nursery.
'Trompenburg' - A vigorous tree with purple-red leaves.
'Tsuma gaki' - A small tree with yellow-green leaves tipped with red.
'Vandermossred' - The finely cut leaves are purple during the growing season. The plant reaches a height and spread of 5 feet.
'Vandermossuper' - This rounded plant reaches a height and spread of 16 feet. The large, green leaves turn orange in fall.
'Waterfall' - The cascading branches are produced on a slow-growing tree that will be 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide. The fall color is yellow.