Japanese Red Maple

Ornamental form and dramatic foliage! This is a standout specimen tree for your landscape!

The Japanese Red Maple tree (Acer palmatum ‘Autropurpeum’), is by far, one of the most popular ornamental plants in the plant kingdom! Incredible aesthetic and calming demeanor, Japanese Maples have become curb appeal must-haves for home landscapes of all designs!

This upright version of a classic Japanese Maple tree, the Japanese Red Maple has finely textured, deeply incised, purplish-red leaves in the spring, green foliage through the summer, and then turn an even more brilliant red in autumn!

This tree is more green than red in late summer but remains beautiful throughout the growing season! The delicate leaves are showcased on strong branches that are striking in the winter landscape after the leaves have fallen. Grey bark and wonderful branching make this tree a fantastic ornamental even in the winter after it’s dropped its cloak of foliage.

Don't let its lacy look fool you, though. This is a hardy plant that can handle urban conditions.

How to Use Japanese Red Maple In The Landscape

This wondrous deciduous tree can be trained to grow as a single-stemmed small tree or multi-stemmed shrub. Use for privacy along the edges of your property or as shade throughout all your landscape designs.

Great street trees and tolerant of tough conditions, there are few locations these trees won’t enhance with their presence. Their love of partial shade allows you to underplant larger trees to add color and depth to your landscape!

Update a dated Cottage garden or shade your formal perennial beds, the reddish-purple and green lacy foliage accents any style or color garden design. Provide lacy shade around your seating areas for a calming destination spot that secludes you from the rest of the world.

There’s nothing like an en masse planting of these fantastic trees atop a hill or lining your driveway to welcome you home each day. Greet your visitors with this tree planted at your entrance to shade your front steps, its trunk skirted in lacy shade perennials, or blooming groundcover.

Typically grown as a stand-out specimen tree in the front gardens, or anchoring the corner of your home, Japanese Maple tree root systems aren’t as invasive as their larger counterparts. You’ll boost curb appeal big time and score points with the neighborhood.

Bump up the effect big time with some dramatic uplighting at night to feature these outstanding plants! The foliage even glows in the moonlight and casts beautiful dappled shade.

Asian-inspired and Zen gardens are perfect homes for these graceful and peaceful trees. The leaves filter the light and cast everything in a soft reddish glow. This makes a perfect feature tree! A lovely symbol of calm clarity and peace, the interplay between the fine-textured leaves and the dramatic coloring.

It makes an incredible focal point in a modern Meditation garden, too. Let your busy day just melt away as you watch the breeze lightly blow through the leaves. Place a wind chime nearby, or a bubbling fountain. This tree is truly a gift for stressed-out modern souls.

Plant around fountains or water features to best highlight these fantastic trees and reflect their glowing foliage in the water. Or plant atop a pinnacle or berm in garden borders and Rock gardens.

Prune to keep smaller for container gardening, patio, and balcony gardens, or even rooftop landscaping. Train as a single-trunk tree or as a multi-stem tree or shrub, the versatility means the end result is entirely up to you!

The Japanese Red Maple tree is also used to create a unique Bonsai tree, lending its beauty and long-lived nature to the wide range of aesthetic shapes and sizes Bonsai trees come in.

Keep trained smaller so this tree can be maintained in a greenhouse or patio planter. Making your gardens radiate with relaxing softness and soothing presence throughout the entire year!

#ProPlantTips For Care

Japanese Maples grow best in partial shade in most of the USDA growing zones 5-8 and appreciate afternoon shade in hotter climates.

Cooler zones allow this tree to thrive in full sun. If it receives full sun, you'll want to give it plenty of regular water. Foliage color may fade with full afternoon sun.

Slow-growing, these trees are long-lived instead of fast-growing, reaching 15-20 feet tall and 1-20 feet wide, this tree grows at its own leisurely pace. Making them fantastic to train and easy-care trees.

Consistent moisture and well-drained soil are crucial for the health of your tree. Enrich the soil with lots of organic matter and mulch the surface well to ensure moisture retention and to insulate the root system from heat and cold. These trees have roots that stay near the surface, so they'll benefit from a layer of mulch 4 inches deep, spread to the outside of the canopy.

Fertilize with an organic acid fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Organic and Natural Premium Fertilizer. When growing in containers, use Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Organic and Natural Planting Mix, typically used for Azaleas, Camellias, and Rhododendrons. To that, add 25% Pine bark mulch (or "Pathway" mulch) for the perfect Japanese Maple Container mix.

With fantastic leaf color, versatility, and ease of care, the graceful Japanese Red Maple tree will become a treasured addition to your garden this year! But only if you order at NatureHills.com today to get one established in your landscape as soon as possible!