Maple Tree

Japanese Maple Tree

The Japanese maple tree (Acer palmatum) is a species of maple originating from Japan, China and Korea. Another maple tree species, Acer japonicum, is sometimes called Downy Japanese Maple tree which can cause some confusion. This maple tree species is native to the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu in Japan and is more commonly known as Fullmoon Maple.

Japanese maple tree growing

The Japanese maple tree is hardy from zone 5B through 8 (USDA hardiness zones) and will do best in deep, fertile soil. It can however adapt to other soil types, and will usually tolerate clay, sand and loam. The soil can be from acidic to slightly alkaline.

Well-drained soil is always recommended. The Japanese maple tree is moderately tolerant of drought and soil salt, but have not tolerance when it comes to aerosol salt.

Part shade/part sun or shade is recommended, since this maple tree species likes to grow as an understorey tree and tolerates quite dense shade. Getting anything to grow under the Japanese maple tree will require some skills since this tree casts a deep shade.

Japanese maple tree cultivars

The Japanese maple tree has been cultivated extensively in Japan as well as in other countries, and you can today select from several thousands of different Japanese maple tree cultivars with different growing patterns. Some cultivars are more like shrubs than trees and do not grow higher than 50 centimetres. The leaves also vary in size, shape, lobing, colour etcetera. Even the bark can vary when it comes to texture and colour.

Japanese maple tree description

The Japanese maple tree is a tree that grows up to 12 metres in height, but as mentioned above you can purchase cultivars that stay significantly smaller and are more like shrubs than real trees. The natural habitat for the Japanese maple tree is shay woodlands in Japan, Korea and China where it grows as an understorey plant. The leaves are opposite and vary in size from 5 to 12 centimetres. The leaf of the wild Japanese maple tree is palmately lobed and features 5 or 7 pointy lobes. In fall, the leaves of the Japanese maple tree will display bright yellow, vivid orange and/or deep red shades.

The flowers of the Japanese maple tree are small and grow in cymes. Just like the other maple species, the Japanese maple tree produces winged samaras (“keys”) that make the seeds airborne. The samaras of the Japanese maple three are between 2 and 3 centimetres long, while the seeds are no more than 6-8 centimetres in size.

japanese maple tree

Copyright 2006 maple-tree.info . Header picture of red maple trees in fall From http://www.landscaping.about.com , taken by David Beaulieu.
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