Others are characterized by interesting bark features. Some species have showy red flowers that appear in late winter before the leaves emerge in the spring. Many are noted for their large size and are used as shade trees, while others are valued for their delicacy and are used as accents. Ornamental Features: Most maples are valued for their spectacular fall leaf colors, which range from muted yellow to bright orange and red. Growth Rate: Growth rate is varied, depending on the species. Mature Height/Spread: Maples vary in size from a small Japanese maple (8 feet) to a large sugar maple (100 feet). griseum) are not suited to the Coastal Plains. leucoderme) are adapted to all areas of South Carolina. Red maple ( Acer rubrum), Japanese maple ( A. They may be narrow and columnar, wide spreading and round-headed or low and mounded. Maples ( Acer species) are deciduous trees (sometimes shrubs) often grown for the shade they produce and their exceptional autumn color. Joey Williamson, ©HGIC, Clemson Extension Like all of these beautiful Japanese maples, it prefers moist but well-drained soil and dappled shade during the hottest part of the day.Japanese maple ( Acer palmatum) in full fall color. ‘Osakazuki’ is perhaps the most fiercely colored Japanese maple of all in autumn-an eyeball-burning scarlet. It is narrowly upright in youth, but wider with age. In fall the leaf centers usually become a rosy red and the margins golden yellow, but in this picture they have turned all sorts of patchy colors, like paints running together. ‘ Higasayama’ has multi-color leaves that emerge in a unique white and green checkerboard pattern with accents of pink. It is an upright/rounded grower to 15 feet. As the plant matures, the bark develops distinctive vertical white stripes, like a snakebark maple. It leafs out a bit later in the spring than the others and might dodge a late freeze that zaps some others. ‘Kihachijo’ is a favorite of mine, with a bright green mane that turns sunset-colors of yellow, rose, red, and peach in fall. All colors, plus green and purple, may be present–even in the same leaf. In spring and summer, its foliage is green splashed with pink and white, and even the bark is variegated! It grows a thick, dense crop of foliage that makes an outstanding display of saltwater-taffy-yellow, orange, and pink in fall. ‘Orido nishiki’ is the best variegated type I have seen. ‘Seiryu’ is an upright version of ‘Viridis’ with the same sparkle. Red-leaved cultivars like ‘Crimson Queen’ may out-sell it by a landslide, but ‘Viridis’ has far more personality. dissectum ‘Viridis’, a weeper with finely cut green leaves, is a fireball of hot colors in fall. Can you imagine a Japanese maple forest?Īcer palmatum var. It’s hard to believe that this is what actually grows wild in Japan. Even a plain-Jane unnamed seedling Acer palmatumcan supply green, yellow, pink, purple, and orange-red color in fall. You don’t need to buy a rare selection to have awesome fall color. Green-leaved or variegated Japanese maples turn more brilliant, varied colors over a longer period of time. Briefly they glow crimson-red and then drop their leaves. The red varieties do turn a radiant color in fall, but they are quiet about it, slowly turning up the volume until one day they have noticeably brightened. I would pick a green-leaved Japanese maple over a red one any day for fall color. There are better types for fall color, though. Mostly we sold the popular red-foliaged types–either weeping, dissected-leaf selections like ‘Crimson Queen’, ‘Tamukeyama’, ‘Inabe shidare’, or ‘Red Dragon’, or upright, non-dissected types like ‘Bloodgood’ or ‘Emperor I’. Over the 16 years I worked at Ammon Nursery in Northern Kentucky, we grew more than 60 varieties of Japanese maples. When it comes to Japanese maples ( Acer palmatum) for fall color, there’s hardly a bad one in the bunch, but some are simply stunning, while others are take-your-breath-away gorgeous.
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