FEATURES

Form
small ornamental tree
the species form may slowly mature at 20' tall by 20' wide, but the numerous cultivars are always much smaller
growth habit is variable from upright rounded, horizontal-vased, or weeping pendulous, depending upon cultivar,
and often becoming densely twiggy with age
slow growth rate

Culture :
full sun to full shade, but usually best in partial sun to partial shade
prefers rich, moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soils, but is moderately adaptable to more adverse conditions .
Propagated by cuttings grafted onto rootstock, rooted stem cuttings, or seeds .

Foliage :
opposite, with green, bronzed, red, or purple emergent leaves, depending upon cultivar
each of the 5 to 11 (often 7) lobes is narrow, serrated, and acuminate (but not incised), with the leaf displaying
prominent palmate veination
sinuses between the lobes are narrow and often extend halfway or more to the top of the petiole
fall color may be pale chartreuse, vivid orange, brick red, or fluorescent flaming red, depending upon cultivar and
sun exposure

Flowers :
clusters of red to purplish inflorescences in late May and early June are often hidden by the foliage

Fruits :
two samaras per stalk having incurved wings, in pendulous clusters from the stems, often becoming red by June
and July, and maturing to reddish-brown in October, but often sparsely borne or absisced by this point

Twigs :
green, brown, red, or purplish, depending upon cultivar, with the Winter buds almost valvate

Trunk :
the specimen may be single-trunked and branching low, grafted onto a single-trunked standard, or multi-trunked
green bark when young for green-foliaged types, otherwise brown bark for red-foliaged types and eventually
turning to brown-gray for all types

ID Summary :
leaves may be green or red, normal or cutleaf, where normal is about seven lobes with sinuses that are deeply cut
almost to the top of the petiole, having palmate veination, and where cutleaf is repeatedly dissected, creating a
lacy, ultra-fine textured appearance
paired samaras have wings that are incurved, but often sparsely borne and not ornamental
habit may be upright-spreading, vased, or weeping, depending upon cultivar, but usually with a slow growth rate

USAGE:

Function :
focal point, specimen, foundation, entranceway, or raised planter small tree

Texture :
fine texture in foliage and when bare
thick density in foliage and when bare (except in youth, when it is much more open, or very old age, when some
forms may become open again)

Assets :
many cultivars are available that differ in foliage-color, cutleaf character, and growth habit
layered branching and dense twigginess contribute to the ultra-fine texture with age
generally adaptable to shady conditions or sunny locations
usually has vibrant fall color

Liabilities :
slow growth
expensive (resulting from slow growth rate at the nursery, and high demand)
occasional dieback or cosmetic damage may occur due to various pests (Japanese Beetle), diseases (Verticillium
Wilt), stresses (drought), Winter freezes, or Spring frost damage.

Habitat
zones 5 to 8
native to the Orient

SELECTIONS

Alternates :
specimen small trees (Acer pensylvanicum, Cornus drummondii [treeform], Crataegus viridis 'Winter King',
Picea orientalis 'Skylands', Picea pungens glauca 'Fat Albert', Pinus densiflora 'Umbraculifera', Viburnum
lentago [treeform], etc.)
red-foliaged small trees or large shrubs (Malus 'Prairiefire', Malus 'Purple Prince', Prunus x cistena 'Big Cis',
Prunus cerasifera 'Mount St. Helens', etc.)
small trees or large shrubs with good fall color, ornamental branching, and relatively fine texture (Euonymus alata
'Compacta', Parrotia persica [treeform], Viburnum prunifolium [treeform], etc.)

Variants :
many Japanese Maple cultivars have either crimson-red-purple foliage in Spring (most turn to green-purple or
bronze in Summer), or are deeply cutleaf (dissected types), or are dwarf forms, or have a combination of these
traits; some are pendulous to cascading, and all are slow-growing and fine-textured; two representative cultivars
that are common are noted below, although many more exist:
Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' - best for holding its red-purple foliage color all Spring and Summer when placed in
full sun, lightening to a vibrant red-orange in Autumn, and maturing to 15' tall by 15' wide
Acer palmatum 'Dissectum Atropurpureum' - dissected foliage is dark red when new, fading to bronze by late
Summer, having a mounding and twisting habit with bright orange fall color, maturing at 8' tall by 10' wide

NOTES:

Translation :
Acer is the Latin name for Maple.
palmatum refers to the palmate veination and lobes of the foliage.