The Japanese Maple Tree: Prized for foliage and form

I love native plants.  I love them for many reasons, all of which you’ve no doubt heard before if you yourself are a native plant lover, are in any garden groups with other native plant lovers, or if you’ve spent any time reading gardening columns like mine. Native plants are well adapted to our local climates, they have close relationships with other native insect and animal species, they are an important part of our national botanical heritage, and much more. But I am not a native plant absolutist, and I’m not sure I fully understand those who are. If you’re a native plant absolutist, you plant (or aspire to plant) only native species in your gardens and landscapes. If you are a native plant absolutist, you wouldn’t plant a Japanese maple in your garden. 
 
Japanese maples are, and have always been, one of my favorite trees. I don’t have space in this column to discuss all the multitude of different forms and varieties of Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) that one can find in the nursery and landscape trade. There are thousands. By and large they are valued for both their shape and their beautiful delicate leaves. The genus Acer means sharp in Latin and palmatum refers to the shape of a hand. While this might describe many species of maple, the lobes of many Japanese maples are particularly distinct and ‘finger-like,’ though there may be anywhere between 5 and 9 individual lobes.

Above left: The Bloodgood Maple tree has burgundy-red leaves during the summer and can grow up to 20 feet tall and wide. Above right: The fingerlike appearance of the leaves of the  Bloodgood Maple leaves. Right: The leaves of the Orangeola cultivar  change from green to reddish-purple to orange from spring through fall.

Above:  The  Sango Kaku tree is a green-leaved cultivar.

Japanese maples are, and have always been, one of my favorite trees. I don’t have space in this column to discuss all the multitude of different forms and varieties of Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) that one can find in the nursery and landscape trade. There are thousands. By and large they are valued for both their shape and their beautiful delicate leaves. The genus Acer means sharp in Latin and palmatum refers to the shape of a hand. While this might describe many species of maple, the lobes of many Japanese maples are particularly distinct and ‘finger-like,’ though there may be anywhere between 5 and 9 individual lobes. 
 
Japanese maples are prized for both their foliage and their form. Leaves are often thin and delicate, and in the case of the dissectum group (plants with lacelike, deeply cut leaves), they are intricately fine. Trees may be upright with single trunks, multi-trunked, or weeping.  They tend to be slow growing, which often means they are expensive relative to other trees of similar size. For example, a five-foot tall Japanese maple is probably twice as old as a five-foot tall tree of another genus and species.  Leaves may be green, red, or variegated, and often change throughout the seasons, particularly in fall. All of that said, there’s almost certainly something to like among the species, regardless of your personal preferences for color and form. 

Some classic varieties include ‘Bloodgood,’ a large upright shrub that grows up to 20’ tall and wide, with burgundy-red leaves throughout the summer; ‘Orangeola,’ a cultivar we have here at the Pitt County Arboretum whose leaves change color from green to reddish-purple to orange from spring through fall; and ‘Sango Kaku,’ a green-leaved cultivar that is attractive but somewhat plain during the summer, but ascends in fall with a gorgeous pale-yellow fall foliage color and especially shines during winter, when its orange and red twigs nearly glow throughout winter after the leaves have fallen. 
 
Though we all have our aesthetic preferences and make our own decisions about what works and doesn’t for our landscapes, it just seems silly to me not to find room for well-behaved non-native plants such as Japanese maples. One can still love, respect, and support native plants while occasionally incorporating those that aren’t.
 
Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center.  If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705.