Monday, February 9, 2015

How to Select Your Japanese Maple Tree

How to Select your Japanese Maple Tree

Selecting the proper Japanese maple Tree for your garden or landscape depends on 5 factors: hardiness, location sun or shade, mature size, type lace leaf or palmatum and preferred leaf color.
Tip 1 Choose a variety that is rated to be cold hardy in your zone. If you are planting it in a pot or container above ground choose a variety that is at least two cold zones hardier than your zone.
Tip 2 Determine how large you can allow your tree to grow. With a little pruning once or twice a year Japanese Maples are very easy to maintain a specific size. But if you prefer to not prune, you will want to choose a variety that will naturally only grow to the size that will work in the allotted space both height and width.
Tip 3 Where are going to plant it, sun or shade? Most Japanese Maples prefer morning sun and afternoon shade.  Planting on the east side of a fence or building provides the best environment for Japanese Maples. Avoid all day full sun locations especially in southern states. Japanese Maples can live in that environment, but usually leaf scorch will occur when temperatures rise above 90 degrees and the sun is shining directly on them.
Tip 4 Japanese Maples generally come in 2 types:
Dissectum (aka weeping or lace leaf) or Palmatum (aka upright or standard).
Most common to the trade are the lace leaf types, most have red or purple leaves with a few green leafed varieties. I'm not aware of any variegated lace leaf varieties.
Palmatum types are about 60% red or purple leafed, 30% green leafed and 10% other (variegated, gold, multi-colored) . Most lace leaf types are weeping varieties, although a few upright lace leafs do exist. Inaba Shidare is a good upright red lace leaf and Seiryu is a good green upright variety.
One of the most important factors when considering which type to grow is sun exposure. The lace leaf types typically cannot tolerate as much direct sun and wind as palmatum types. The leaves are much more delicate do to the thickness of the leaf and the width of the leaf lobes. Planting a lace leaf Japanese Maple in full sun is not advised and another selection should be considered.
The upright red type varieties that are well known for their ability to tolerate sunnier locations are Bloodgood and Emperor 1.
Osakazuki and Omure yama are good green uprights with great fall color. Red Select and Ever Red are said to be the more tolerant to direct sun and Virdis and Green Mist are good green varieties for sunnier locations. Please keep in mind the mentioned varieties are more tolerant of sunnier locations, but still may show burning on the leaf edges. 
Tip 5 What leaf color do you prefer? red, green or variegated. Green leafed varieties can tolerate sunnier and hotter exposure than red leafed or variegated varieties. Green leafed varieties grow faster and larger. Variegated varieties prefer shady locations.

Use the chart below to select a Japanese Maple Tree suited to your requirements.
If you would like to learn more or purchase a specific variety of Japanese maple click the variety link to our

                                      JAPANESE  MAPLE SELECTION CHART
HARDINESS ZONELEAF COLORTYPEVARIETYHEIGHT FEETSPREAD FEET
4-8Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Inaba shidare108
4-9Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Tamukeyama88
5-8Greendissectum (Laceleaf)Waterfall1012
5-8Greendissectum (Laceleaf)Virdis1012
5-8GreenjaponicumAconitifolium Maiku-jaku105
5-8GreenjaponicumGreen Cascade2218
5-8GreenpalmatumShu Shidare36
5-8GreenpalmatumGreen Mist44
5-8GreenpalmatumMurasaki Kiyohime46
5-8GreenpalmatumGreen Hornet55
5-8GreenpalmatumTiger Rose64
5-8GreenpalmatumWinter Flame63
5-8GreenpalmatumRugose74
5-8GreenpalmatumAo shime no uchi84
5-8GreenpalmatumHogyoku84
5-8GreenpalmatumKagiri Nishiki84
5-8GreenpalmatumScolopendrifolium84
5-8GreenpalmatumShigarami84
5-8GreenpalmatumGreen Lace124
5-8GreenpalmatumOsakazuki2020
5-8GreenpalmatumSango Kaku2522
5-8GreenpalmatumGreen2525
5-8Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Garnet56
5-8Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Crimson Queen1012
5-8Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Red Dragon1012
5-8RedpalmatumOctopus56
5-8RedpalmatumSkeeters Broom53
5-8RedpalmatumTsukushigata64
5-8RedpalmatumRed Cloud88
5-8RedpalmatumPixie84
5-8RedpalmatumHubb's Red Willow84
5-8RedpalmatumIijima Sunago84
5-8RedpalmatumRed Emperor106
5-8RedpalmatumBeni Otake128
5-8RedpalmatumBurgundy Lace1210
5-8RedpalmatumHefner's Red125
5-8RedpalmatumTrompenburg1515
5-8RedpalmatumBloodgood2020
5-8RedpalmatumOshio Bene2015
5-8RedpalmatumAtro-purpureum2525
5-8Redpalmatumatro-purpureum (Small Pots)2525
5-8RedpalmatumAtro-purpureum ((SEED))2525
5-8RedpalmatumAtro-purpureum2525
5-8VariegatedpalmatumFirst Ghost63
5-8VariegatedpalmatumPeaches & Cream66
5-8VariegatedpalmatumAmber Ghost88
5-8VariegatedpalmatumGrandma Ghost84
5-8VariegatedpalmatumSagara Nishiki96
5-8VariegatedpalmatumButterfly158
5-8VariegatedpalmatumShirazz1512
5-8VariegatedpalmatumSister Ghost64
5-8VariegatedpalmatumGeisha23
5-9GreenpalmatumGlowing Embers2020
5-9Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Ever Red610
5-9Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Lion Heart106
5-9RedpalmatumRuby Stars32
5-9RedpalmatumRed Sentinel812
5-9RedpalmatumPurple Ghost125
5-9RedpalmatumTwisted Japanese red maple Tree1512
6-8Greendissectum (Laceleaf)Seiryu126
6-8GreenpalmatumOmure yama1015
6-8Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Red Select610
6-8Reddissectum (Laceleaf)Orangeola88
6-8RedpalmatumShishigashira64
6-8RedpalmatumShaina64
6-8RedpalmatumShishio Improved104
6-8RedpalmatumFireglow1515
6-8RedpalmatumEmperor I2015
6-8RedpalmatumBoskoop Glory1510
6-8RedpalmatumMoonfire1415
6-8VariegatedpalmatumBeni Schichihenge85

Friday, February 6, 2015

Glowing Embers Not Just Another Japanese Maple

Every imaginable color in the fallGlowing Embers Japanese maple glows with fall color. Photo by Gary Wade.
Glowing Embers isn't just another Japanese maple. It's a stunning Georgia Gold Medal Winner.
Chosen for its vigorous growth rate, brilliant fall color and adaptability to a range of Southern landscape conditions, Glowing Embers is from University of Georgia horticulture professor Michael Dirr's plant evaluation program.
The original seedling selection from which others have been propagated can be seen at the entrance to the Callaway Building at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.
Unlike many Japanese maples that require shade and moist, organic soils, Glowing Embers thrives in full sun. It's hardy in zones 5 to 8, and it tolerates drought better than most trees in its class.
It won't tolerate wet sites, however, or sites where extreme fluctuations in soil moisture are common. Good soil drainage is essential.
The color sequence of each leaf varies as autumn deepens. A single branch may display four distinctly different colors at the same time.

acerpalmatum-glowembers2.jpg
Glowing Embers Japanese maple is an excellent shade tree. Photo by Gary Wade
Glowing Embers is a medium-size deciduous tree, growing 30 to 40 feet high with an equal spread. Its leaves are finely toothed, 2 to 3 inches long and about 3 inches wide with five distinct, pointed lobes. The tree has a dense canopy when it's in full leaf. It's an excellent shade tree for residential landscapes where space is limited.
Unlike other Japanese maples that are grafted onto a rootstock, Glowing Embers is called a "clonal" selection. That means it's propagated from cuttings and isn't grafted onto a rootstock. Nurserymen refer to this as "growing on its own roots." They love this characteristic because it makes their production more efficient and less time-consuming.
Once it's established, Glowing Embers will benefit from spring applications of a complete garden fertilizer such as 16-4-8 or 12-4-8.
Prune it as needed to thin out branches and develop a desired shape. Although the tree has above-average drought tolerance, be prepared to provide some supplemental irrigation during droughts.
Glowing Embers Japanese maple is quickly becoming a highly demanded and popular plant in the nursery industry as landscape professionals and home gardeners discover its award-winning qualities.