Japanese Maples (acer palmatums) are a widely cultivated family of plants useful as small trees, large shrubs, container plants, and bonsai. There are many exciting cultivars that look good in many different situations.

Aside from their aestheticaly pleasing appearance and ease in growing, one well-placed Japanese maple can add hundreds or thousands of dollars in value to your property.

Japanese maples will grow in sun or shade. In their natural habitat Japanese maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight and at the edges of woodlands. Ideally they prefer to be grown in similar conditions. Bright sunlight and hot summers do not kill trees, but in hot summer areas, the newest leaves may burn and scald in these conditions.

Most any garden soil will grow Japanese maples, but the soil must be well drained! Wet soggy soil around the roots is the killer. Good thing is they'll often let you know if their feet are too wet when the leaves brown on the tips. If proper planting techniques are followed from the start when planting a Japanese maple you shouldn't have this problem. We plant Japanese maples in a raised bed or mound to insure good drainage.

Plants should have a consistent supply of water during the first 2 or 3 years after planting. Do not over-water them though. Just make sure they get enough water during periods of drought. Onc established, Japanese maples can easily withstand periods of drought with no problems at all. Few pests or diseases afflict Japanese maples, and no regular spraying or controls are indicated.

There are two basic forms of Japanese maples: upright and mounding. Most of the uprights have larger palmate leaves while the mounding forms have thinly dissectided lacey foliage. Both the upright and the mounding forms come in shades of red or green foliage. Below are a few of our favorites.

'Bloodgood' - This is probably the most popular of the upright red leaf Japanese maples. Holds color well in summer. 'Red Emperor' is an improved 'Bloodgood' that when available we are use in landscape plans. 'Fireglow' is another selection similar to Bloodgood but with lighter red new growth.

'Waterfall' - This is one of our favorites of the green lace leaf vairieties. As with most all lace leaf's the form is mounding and the branches are cascading. 'Viridis' is another excellent green lace leaf that we use in our landscape designs. 'Seiryu' is a green lace leaf but with an upright vase form.

'Crimson Queen' - This is the most popular of all the red lace leaf Japanese maples. The form is mounding and the foliage retains its red color well during summer. 'Red Dragon' is another fine selection known for its smaller size and color retention. 'Tamukeyama', also known for holding its color well has a more open, cascading habit..

'Sango Kaku' / Coral Bark - The Coral Bark Japanese Maple is deserving of much wider use. It has year round appeal, highlighted in winter when the stems and branches turn fluorescent coral in color. The new growth leaf color is a bright green and the fall color is a yellow-gold tinged with red. It will grow 15 - 18' tall and spread 6 - 8' wide.