The Joy of Japanese Maples

There is nothing quite like the autumn colors from mums, berries and trees in hues of rusts, golds, orchres and burgundy peppering the Lawrence landscape but perhaps the brightest star in this fall extravaganza is the Japanese maple.  Sporting the most crimson of leaves and the brightest eye-catching of oranges they are a tree that can scarcely be surpassed at the onslaught of autumn.  With hundreds of cultivars, many of which are quite hardy, the careful placement of a Japanese maple into the garden is generally one of unequaled beauty.  Now is the time to plant trees and in particular now is the time to shop for the Japanese Maples because you’ll see their true fall display.

Few trees are as well-behaved as the Japanese maple.  Their roots are noninvasive making them a superior candidate for a large urn or pot, when you are raking up Sycamore leaves this fall and cursing Mother Nature your love affair with the Japanese maple will only grow because their fallen leaves break down quickly making autumn clean-up a cinch, and even the tallest varieties of this gorgeous species is still easily trimmed and maintained with a simple step ladder. 

The Japanese word “momiji” is applied to this tree in its native land.  The word is said to have two meanings, both of which would apply to the tree: “baby’s hands” and “becomes crimson leaves”.  The species has been long admired, in fact as early as the 1800’s more than 200 varieties had been named.  Today, there are more than 300 with every imaginable leaf shape, leaf color and growth habit.  And it is no wonder as they boast four seasons of interest, in the winter their bare branches have a structural beauty and those limbs are often lush colors themselves like red, green or variegated.  Some may appear snake-like while others zig zag and then there are the weeping, soft, pliable limbs all with a fabulous sculptural aesthetic.  The branch pattern can be strong and upright or weeping and dome-shaped, regardless of which cultivar is in your garden the autumn is a lovely time to admire the Japanese maples.

“Japanese maples are such a nice size to fit on the edge of a patio or garden path,” Says, Charles Barden, K-States Research and Extension Forester, “And they look very different from other trees more commonly found grown in our area.  The very fine textured foliage of the cutleaf varieties and the reddish purple leaves are not found on other woody plants.”  As the green chlorophyll breaks down in the leaves this autumn, the bright reds and oranges of the other pigments (carotenoids and anthocyanins) become more visable.

Many of our areas Japanese maples suffered greatly from that wretched spring frost, we bonsai’ed them to the point of no return ruining that wonderful branch habit and architectural feel and turning them into a stick poking out of the ground.  But, it was for the greater good as most of the trees have made a comeback and with any luck those that survived will again be the amazing, arching, awe-inspiring specimen that graced our gardens before.  Mike McLoud, Nursery Manager at Lawrence Landscape, had this advice for the frost damaged trees, “They should have been cut back.  I wouldn’t fertilize this year because we don’t want to push any new growth.  In the spring when you start to see buds swell would be a good time to fertilize, then fertilize again at the end of May or first of June.  If we have what I call an ‘Indian Summer’ in the winter where the temperatures are in the 40’s and 50’s and no rain or snow has fallen then you are going to want to water them.”

When you sow your new Japanese maple make sure to put it in a loamy, acidic soil that is high in organic matter, this can be achieved by adding a bale of peat moss and tilling it into the bed where the tree will be planted.  Several inches of plant-based mulch material will also help conserve soil moisture and will add organic matter to the area.  Barden explains the optimal conditions, “Japanese maples are a bit fussy and demanding in their site requirements, leaf scorch (outer edges of leaves turning brown in hot, dry, windy weather) is the most common problem.  Japanese maples perform best if exposure to afternoon sun and dry south winds is minimal.  If it gets too little sunlight, the red foliage colors will be more muted.”  Therefore, we want to plant them in filtered or partial shade with well-drained soil but with consistent moisture additionally, most trees benefit from regular pruning particularly when they are young.  If the site requirements are met for these beauties, most everything else should fall right into place.

Japanese maple statistics:

Placement –

• Anchoring a terrace or patio in a large landscape.
• As an edge plant to a woodland area or vast lawn.
• Highlighting one specimen plant in your garden (beautifully paired with azaleas, ferns, rhododendrons and hostas)

Just be sure to plant them where you can enjoy their gorgeous fall display and their fascinating branch habit in the winter.

Needs –

• Partial shade, organic-rich soil, ample amounts of moisture.

Leaf Types & Colors –

• Feathered, deeply divided lopes with deeply dissected sublobes.
• Serrated, variously divided or lobed leaves with toothed edges.
• Narrow, lobes are divided to the leaf base.

Growth Habit –

• 25 feet tall upright growth to dwarfs that reach 5 feet tall.

Popular Varieties for our Area –

• Corallinum, upright variety with moderately divided leaves, 8-10’ tall, cold hardy with golden leaves.
• Dissectum Nigrum, an all-season red variety, 7-10’ tall, hardy with a weeping habit.
• Bloodgood, new foliage is brilliant red deepening to dark red with maturity, holds its purplish-red color all year.
• Burgundy Lace, slender twigs and deeply lobed and serrated red leaves.
• Crimson Queen, weeping habit with dark red leaves turning to crimson in the fall, 8-10’ tall.