JAPANESE MAPLE TREE TYPES HOW TO

This is very weather and zone dependent, but most red Japanese maples fade to some semblance of green during the hot summer months. First, it likely will not remain red for the entirety of the summer. If you’re looking for a red Japanese maple, there are a few things you need to know.

There are other color options as well, but let’s start with the more common options. That being said there are hundreds of varieties of red Japanese maples with variations in red color in addition to every size and shape imaginable. By far the most common colors for Japanese maples are red and green with red being the most popular. This is another big categorical question. Popular examples of weeping Japanese maples are Crimson Queen, Viridis, and Red Dragon What Color Japanese Maple do you Want? Weeping Japanese maples look especially nice in corner beds. I usually prefer weeping Japanese maples near the house because they do not block nearly as much of the house. Like with any other Japanese maple, weeping Japanese maples can be used all over the landscape wherever they have space to grow. While the upright growing Japanese maples often have a strong, firm branching structure, the weeping Japanese maples will have a soft, flowing look that provides a different look and feel to the landscape. This often forms a mounding shrub like look when left unpruned. These trees have much more lateral, spreading growth and can spread about as wide as they are tall. Weeping Japanese maples typically max out around 10 feet tall with most of them only reaching about 6 feet over a 10-year span. Popular examples of upright growing Japanese maples are Bloodgood, Sango kaku, and Tsukasa silhouette. I prefer upright growing Japanese maples planted out in the yard or near the house in non-window obstructing situations.

Upright growing Japanese maples can be used all over the yard, but gardeners must be conscious of their ultimate height as these trees are much more likely to block portions of the house compared the weeping Japanese maples. The size range is large but upright growing Japanese maples have a clear shape and structure difference to their weeping counterparts. Upright Japanese MaplesĪn upright Japanese maple can grow as tall as 30 feet over a 10–15-year timeframe or can stay as short as about 6 feet tall over that same span. Probably the biggest delineation when selecting your Japanese maple is whether you want a tree that grows upright toward the sky like a traditional tree, or would you prefer a tree that stays smaller and weeps over with a spreading habit creating a cascading mound? This splits Japanese maples into two main categories for which most people are searching. Do you Want an Upright Japanese Maple or a Weeping Japanese Maple? Hot temperatures in the summer also need to be taken into account when selecting a Japanese maple. These zones are also not the end all be all with hardiness as they only take into account average low temperatures in the winter. That being said I recommend the vast majority of Japanese maples for zones 5-9. Some of the really durable varieties such as Tamukeyama and Red Emperor can sometimes be stretched to zone 10 under the right circumstances. I don’t typically recommend any of the coral or colored bark varieties for zone 5 as they seem to be weakened by harsh winters more than other Acer palmatum varieties. Acer sieboldianum would be the only species of maple that we grow that I would recommend for zone 4. I would recommend pretty much everything we grow for these zones. That covers a large majority of the United States. Japanese maples grow well in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. But with such a diverse selection how on earth do you choose the right Japanese maple for what you need? Follow this guide for a step-by-step solution to selecting the best Japanese maple for your garden every time. Don’t believe me? Come see us and I’ll give you a tour of our garden with over 150 different kinds of Japanese maples. So much so that you can literally landscape an entire garden with just Japanese maples. There is also unlimited diversity among Japanese maples. Their year-long beauty is jealousy invoking for other plants. I often refer to them as royalty in the landscape. I may be a little biased, but I truly believe that Japanese maples are the best plants in the world.

JAPANESE MAPLE TREE TYPES HOW TO

How to Choose the Best Japanese Maple for Your Garden

Japanese maple tree types