| Cultivation |
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. |
| Characteristics |
This Japanese maple is grown mainly for its spectacular autumn colour,
perhaps the best of all the maples. It has an open habit, and its large,
seven-lobed, bright green leaves turn brilliant scarlet and crimson in
autumn and last for several weeks. It literally erupts in to colour, surely
reminicent of mount fuji from its great home land. Over time in the garden
it will form a large, sturdy tree. Full sun is preferred for best colour
but it prefers a sheltered, shady spot, and looks dramatic silhouetted
against a tall hedge or modern building. The Royal Horticultural Society
have given it the Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Itis a very old cultivar,
it grows rapidly in youth, then slows to mature gracefully. |
| Cultivars |
'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. |