Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum
📖 About this plant
A prized ornamental tree renowned for its elegant, deeply lobed leaves and spectacular fall color ranging from brilliant scarlet and orange to golden yellow. Hundreds of cultivars exist with leaf colors spanning green, red, burgundy, variegated, and threadleaf forms. Japanese maples provide year-round beauty: delicate spring foliage, summer texture, autumn fire, and winter branch architecture. They thrive in partial shade.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Partial shade (3-6 hrs)
Every 2-3 days
Moderate (50-65%)
5-25°C
Moisture-retentive, well-draining loam rich in organic matter; pH 5.5-6.5 (slightly acidic). Avoid alkaline soil which causes chlorosis
Light application of balanced slow-release fertilizer in early spring; top-dress with compost annually; avoid heavy nitrogen which promotes rapid, weak growth susceptible to damage
🌐 Common Names
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Japan, Korea, eastern China, eastern Mongolia
- 📏 Max height
- 3-10 m depending on variety (dwarf cultivars may reach only 1-2 m)
- 📐 Spread
- 180-300 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Spring
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Red, Purple
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Red, Burgundy, Orange
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Slow
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic to humans and pets; all parts safe. Sap is not known to be irritating. One of the safest trees for gardens with children and animals
- 🌱 Propagation
- Graft named cultivars onto seedling rootstock in late winter; softwood cuttings in early summer under mist with rooting hormone (difficult for many cultivars); seed propagation produces variable results — requires stratification
🛡️ Health & Safety
Non-toxic to humans and pets; all parts safe. Sap is not known to be irritating. One of the safest trees for gardens with children and animals
Common issues
- Leaf scorch from afternoon sun and wind
- Chlorosis in alkaline soil
- Verticillium wilt — fatal fungal disease
- Aphid infestations on new growth
- Frost damage to emerging leaves
💡 Care tips
- Protect from strong winds and afternoon sun
- Mulch root zone to keep soil cool and moist
- Prune in late summer to avoid sap bleeding
- Leaf scorch indicates too much sun or water stress
