Michigan State University Extension
Ornamental Plants plus Version 2.0 - 00000018
01/01/98

Acer palmatum--Japanese Maple


Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8                                     
Height: 20 ft   Spread: 20 ft  Form: rounded                
Type: deciduous shrub or small tree                         
Annual Growth Rate: less than 12 inches                     

Comments: 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.                                       

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 Select') 'Inaba shidare' - A vigorous    
     laceleaf with leaves through the summer then turning   
     bright red in the fall.                                
   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.   
   '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' - (Christyann TM) - The finely cut       
     leaves are purple during the growing season.  The      
     plant reaches a height and spread of 5 feet.           
   'Vandermossuper' - (Fascination TM) - 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.                  

References for Cultivars: Iseli 1997, Princeton Nurseries   
1997, Lake County Nursery 1997, Weston Nurseries 1997, J    
Frank Schmidt and Son 1997, Monrovia Nursery Company 1997,  
Ray Wiegand's Nursery 1997, Wayside Gardens 1996, Sheridan  
Nurseries 1997, Studebaker Nurseries 1998.                  


Go To Top of File        MSU Extension Home Page        Main Page for this Data Base

This information is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. This information becomes public property upon publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU Extension. Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise a commercial product or company. This file was generated from data base OP on 07/27/98. Data base OP was last revised on 01/01/98. For more information about this data base or its contents please contact heatley@msue.msu.edu . Please read our disclaimer for important information about using our site.