Fall colors range from bronze to orange. Then in fall, an amazing transformation occurs: Suddenly, the foliage becomes a rich copper-gold tapestry overlaid with random shots of scarlet. It’s a small slow-growing variety that is popular for bonsai. Pacific Sprite is a cultivar of the vine maple which is native to the Pacific Northwest. In Zone 4, most Japanese maples (except for Velvet Viking™) are not reliable in the garden. We have one of the largest collections of Japanese maples of any nursery in Western Washington, thanks to our buyer, Bill Hibler. The Japanese name translates as ‘floating clouds,’ an entirely appropriate appellation for this lighter-than-air confection.”. These are Acer p. Suminagashi, in their Spring leaf color. If possible, choose a location away from strong winds or blazing sun. ‘Sharp’s Pygmy’, ‘Kiyohime’, ‘Kamagata’, Mature size: Up to 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide. – Keith Johansson is a lifetime member and the current president of the North American branch of the Maple Society and the founder and owner of Metro Maples in Fort Worth, Texas. It boasts an ongoing show of delicate colors throughout the growing season but is most prizedfor its orange spring color. “Of the hundreds of varieties I grow each year, ‘Orange Dream’ is one of the most rewarding. ‘Tamukeyama’, ‘Seiryu’, ‘Beni-otake’. Their picks will excite and entice you, and send you on the hunt to find a variety beyond ‘Bloodgood’. Sango Kaku – Known as a Coral Bark, new limbs on this upright are a brilliant red color. – Henry Eastwood and Francie Schroeder are co-owners of Eastwoods Nurseries in Washington, Virginia, where they specialize in Japanese maples, conifers, and ginkgos. Most varieties prefer either sun-dappled shade or morning sun and afternoon shade—especially in hot, sunny climates where Japanese maples are prone to scorched leaves. Dissectum – This is generally called a Japanese Laceleaf. Give it the right location and you’ll get silvers, reds, and greens all at once.”. The medium vigor and bushy, upright habit make it outstanding for many landscape settings. They’re some of the most popular trees in our landscapes, offering graceful forms, vivid foliage colors, and undeniable beauty. ‘Koto-no-ito’ was one of my first favorites—and even now that we’ve grown more than 250 different cultivars, I still love it!”. Exemplary in their response to pruning, Japanese maples are hardy trees, readily adaptable to a range of soil and climatic conditions. “This amazing maple has the most brilliant red spring color. The foliage of this upright, rounded tree is a pleasant, unassuming rich green all season long, lending a steady presence to a garden. The form of ‘Shindeshojo’ is shrubby and dense, and its young stems are reddish brown to deep purple. The green leaves are twisted and contorted giving the maple a unique appearance. They can be grown in warmer zones, but can suffer from leaf scorch and require ample regular summer irrigation and protection from hot afternoon sun. Japanese maples, in general, are fairly easy to grow. One of the best for high sun and high heat. ‘Orange Dream’ prefers morning sun and afternoon shade to live up to its best color potential.”. ", Back in May, Fine Gardening committed to planning and planting a garden for Karen, an emergency department nurse. Best location to plant a Japanese Maple Tree. An Overview of Japanese Maples. This rare maple is slow growing and upright with an almost shrublike form and green bark. Pnw Garden. It requires a very different pruning technique from all other Japaneses Maples. growing japanese maples in containers. Upright Japanese maples are the most plentiful of the maples. Native to Japan, Korea and China, Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) include a rich variety of deciduous shrubs or small trees with graceful habits, elegantly cut leaves and extraordinarily colorful foliage, particularly in fall when the leaves warm up to dazzling shades of golden-yellow, red-purple and bronze, before shedding to the ground. “This is an extraordinary small tree. There are hundreds of different varieties of Japanese Maples. Pacific Sprite is a cultivar of the vine maple which is native to the Pacific Northwest. This variety does particularly well in hot, sunny climates. 6' tall x 2' wide in 10 years. Even smaller is the extravagantly layered red laceleaf Japanese maple ‘Orangeola’ (A. palmatum ‘Orangeola’), an ideal container tree because it … Wait until a year after planting to begin, and fertilize at half the strength recommended on the fertilizer’s label. The color pageant starts in early spring, when leaves emerge bright orange with darker leaf margins. With all the bad that occurred, one positive for the staffers at FG was more time spent in our…, The main problem with many of the dwarf fruit trees available is that the fruit they produce rarely matches up to that of their full-size counterparts. Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum) (click on each photo to enlarge image) Size: Generally under 12' tall and several inches in diameter. One of my favorite nurseries. Get our latest tips, how-to articles, and instructional videos sent to your inbox. ... Japanese maples with red leaves prefer late afternoon and evening dappled shade, although four to six hours of direct morning sunlight is beneficial to maintain the red pigment in the leaves. ‘Ezo nishiki’, ‘Shishi-gashira’, ‘Beni-otake’. Pacific Sprite has a golden Fall color. Japanese maples—especially weeping varieties—are vulnerable to breakage from heavy snow loads, so shake or brush the trees off regularly throughout winter. Germaine’s Gyration has an unusual spiraling growth habit and tiered foliage. Just one look at the elegant form and foliage of Japanese maples will have you hooked. The emphasis is on the tight leaf clusters and less on the limb structure. Regarded as the best red spring foliage color of any of the Japanese maples, award-winning Acer palmatum 'Shin-deshojo' is a compact deciduous shrub or … The bark is smooth and gray on older limbs, but green, red or sometimes pink on younger shoots. Click Here To Go To Page 2 for more Japanese Maples. Its dense, weeping habit makes it fun to prune and shape. While they are not heavy feeders, Japanese maples do benefit from fertilizer twice yearly: once in spring before leaves emerge and then once more in midsummer. In fall, the leaves turn shades of orange and pink. The color changes from orange to orange-yellow and eventually to yellow-green in midsummer. The color gradually deepens to dark green and then turns brilliant orange-red to red and yellow in fall.”, This vigorous variety is amazing to watch grow as it seems to be a tiny bit different every day. It emerges crimson in spring, quickly turning green for summer, until it heaps on even more interest with its multi­hued fall show. – Douglas Justice is a member of the Maple Society and the curator of collections at the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia. Some varieties need protection from hot afternoon sun and wind, so a location with bright shade or only morning sun will best suit most potted maples. We surveyed a number of Japanese-maple aficionados to ask for their absolute favorite variety in several categories. Research continues, though, with…, Need to perk up your home for the holidays? Pacific Coast Maple dries easily with little degrade and has good dimensional stability after drying. The vine maples are the only Japanese maples that are native to the Pacific Northwest of the Americas. Currently, there are hundreds of different Japanese maple tree cultivars. It starts spring a few days earlier than most maples, with new leaves in an electric shade of green like no other you’ve seen. Listed below are some of the more common varieties in the Pacific Northwest. Here are some favorite varieties, including dwarf Japanese maple, that feature a spectacle of vibrant leaf color. Give this variety afternoon shade for the best color show. ‘Koto-no-ito’ was one of my first favorites—and even now that we’ve grown more than 250 different cultivars, I still love it!”, – Sara G. Monte is a co-owner of Wildwood Farm in Kenwood, California, where she specializes in dogwoods, conifers, semidwarf, Quickly growing to 18 feet tall (or more) in 10 years, this tree is consistently taller than any other maple in the nursery. Autumn brings a show of fiery orange-yellow. It is a cultivar of the native species. “The edges of its leaves are attractively rolled under, giving the leaves an unusual and distinctive fingerlike quality. ‘Fairy Hair’,  ‘Baby Lace’, ‘Korean Gem’, Mature size: 8 to 10 feet tall and up to 8 feet wide. It starts spring a few days earlier than most maples, with new leaves in an electric shade of green like no other you’ve seen. One of our favorite trees to work on. Of all the colored-leaf Japanese Maples available, the Garnet Japanese Maple is the most spectacular. Most all-purpose fertilizers will suffice. You must be a magazine subscriber to access this feature. Here are a few varieties commonly planted in the Pacific Northwest. Their picks will excite and entice you, and send you on the hunt to find a variety beyond ‘Bloodgood’. Here is a great reference for many Japanese Maple Varieties. Located in Redmond, WA, Northwest Nurseries services the landscaping and nursery industries in the Pacific Northwest, with availability in the … It’s a slow grower and can look awkward when young, and the leaves grow more sparsely than when mature. Tim describes this cultivar as a weeping maple similar to full moon maple. – Patricia Smyth is a Japanese-maple specialist and the second-generation owner of Essence of the Tree, a mail-order Japanese-maple nursery in Potter Valley, California. Japanese maples grow well in any well-drained soil. ‘Katsura’, ‘Ariadne’, ‘Geisha Gone Wild’. Its unusual characteristics make it popular for bonsai and container gardens, where it can be enjoyed close up. I get a lot of ‘wows’ in my garden over this little jewel.”, Of the hundreds of varieties I grow each year, ‘Orange Dream’ is one of the most rewarding. The average garden center, unfortunately, has only five or six varieties to choose from, and they’re usually the popular standards, like ‘Bloodgood’ (A. palmatum ‘Bloodgood’), and various burgundy threadleaf varieties, like ‘Crimson Queen’ (A. palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’). ‘Kinran’, ‘Katsura’, ‘Skeeter’s Broom’. – Sara G. Monte is a co-owner of Wildwood Farm in Kenwood, California, where she specializes in dogwoods, conifers, semidwarf ginkgos, and Japanese maples. 13 Japanese Maples for shade. Then in fall they turn an amazing deep-red, just like the garnet gemstone. Vine Maple – While not a Japanese Maple, they can be quite beautiful when shaped like a vase of flowers. Meanwhile, A. circinatum, the vine maple, is native to the Pacific Northwest and is simply an American ‘Japanese maple’ wannabe! 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