Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum
Japanese Maple is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Japanese Maple
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 16 ft tall and 15 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 15 years.
When to plant Japanese Maple
Plant Japanese Maple in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8 range, spring means March to May and fall means August or September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
Comes in 11 varieties
Same plant, same care - pick the variety you are growing.
Good to know about Japanese Maple
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
Brown leaves have three causes: crispy margins after heat is leaf scorch, dark blotches along veins in wet spring is anthracnose, one-sided wilting is fatal Verticillium wilt. per Clemson and CAES
How much sun
Red and purple cultivars want some morning sun to hold their color; green, variegated and laceleaf types scorch in it. In hot regions, give afternoon shade. per NC State and Clemson
Shallow roots need mulch
Its feeder roots sit shallow, so a 3 to 4 in (7 to 10 cm) mulch layer, kept off the trunk, conserves moisture and steadies soil temperature. per NC State and Clemson
Sensitive to common sprays
Unlike most plants, Japanese maple can be burned by horticultural oil, neem, insecticidal soap and spinosad, so spot-test before treating pests and never spray by reflex. per Clemson
Verticillium wilt is incurable
Verticillium wilt is soilborne and incurable: no fungicide cures it and it survives in soil for years, so never replant a maple where one has died. per Wisconsin and Iowa State
Over 200 cultivars
More than 200 cultivars range across green, red and purple foliage, finely cut laceleaf and threadleaf forms, weeping and upright habits, and dwarf to large sizes. per NC State
What pairs well with Japanese Maple
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Hellebore
Shares part shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both offer pollinator forage.
Rhododendron
Shares part shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; shorter at 5.9 ft, an understory layer.
Cardinal Flower
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; both offer pollinator forage; shorter at 3.3 ft, an understory layer.
Northern Sea Oats
Shares part shade and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; shorter at 3.3 ft, an understory layer.
Christmas Fern
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Summersweet
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; both offer pollinator forage; shorter at 5.9 ft, an understory layer.
Witch Hazel
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; shorter at 9.8 ft, an understory layer; both offer pollinator forage.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.