Japanese Maple Trees in Landscaping

Size

• Japanese maples are small deciduous trees, maturing between 15 and 25 feet. Cultivars of the same size exist, including Sango-Kaku and Bloodgood, which grow to full size at 25 feet. Smaller Japanese maple forms include Omurayama, Suminagashi and Beni-Kawa; they top out at 15 feet. A dwarf form of Japanese maple, growing to just 8 feet, is Filagree, while Shaina is even tinier, developing between 4 and 5 feet high.

Foliage

• The foliage is the highlight of any Japanese maple. The leaves possess multiple lance-shaped lobes, with each one having five, seven or nine lobes. The leaves are palmate, meaning the lobes resemble fingers on an open hand, spreading out. The parent species has green leaves that change to bright colors like yellow and orange in the fall. However, landscapers often utilize cultivars with leaf color other than green. Crimson Queen, for instance, has red leaves to go along with weeping branches. Orange-red leaves in the springtime on Oshio-beni turn green for summer but a rich scarlet shade in fall.

Growing Conditions

• Landscaping with the Japanese maple in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2, 3 and 4 is not possible; the species lacks extreme cold hardiness and is only safely hardy beginning in USDA zone 5. Most cultivars handle a zone 5 winter, but some, such as Shishagashira, are best for zone 6 and warmer. Landscapers avoid hot and dry sites with this tree. It grows in sun or partial shade. A damp location with good drainage and a bit of acidity to the ground is where Japanese maples will thrive.

Landscape Uses

• Use the Japanese maple as a specimen plant, with the cultivars with colorful foliage providing accent to the landscape. The small size of these trees allows you to form miniature groves of them for effect, or you can employ them in a rock garden. This is an attractive tree with which to create borders around your property, advises the Missouri Botanical Garden.