Japanese Maple | Red Accents

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Adding Red in all Seasons

Creating a garden design with red accents

A few deciduous shrubs and trees can add beautiful color to your winter garden. 

When compared to the Japanese maple in size, form, leaf shape, and color, 
few other plants present so many options. The staggering diversity of Japanese maple varieties, 
has been remarkably generated primarily from just three species: 
Acer palmatum, Acer japonicum (native to Japan, Korea, and China), and Acer shirasawanum (native to Japan). 

Here are three Coral Bark Japanese maples sans leaves and leaving bare it's red bark in the winter. 

Coral Bark Japanese Maple 

Acer Palmatum 'Sango Kuku')

There are dwarfs, midsize, and large. Some varieties are vase shaped, while others form columns or gracefully cascade. Some leaves are star shaped or nearly round; some are deeply dissected and lacy. Other often overlooked features are their sculptural trunks and branching, tufts of colorful flowers, and clusters of winged seeds called samaras.

Japanese Maple Forms

Japanese maples come in many forms-some are airy and upright, while others are compact and domed. Here are the most common terms used to describe their forms.

• Vase: The branches of these trees grow up and out, for a tree that is narrow at the base, but wide at the top.
• Weeping: With pendulous branches that arch gracefully downward, weeping maples cascade in a similar fashion to a waterfall.
• Compact/dwarf: Growing to heights of just 3 to 6 feet, these types make an excellent choice for growing in a pot.

Japanese Maple Leaf Types

The leaves of Japanese maples can differ greatly between varieties, with some arranged in layers like roof shingles, some variegated along the margins or with webs of veining, and others that are curled, crinkled and clustered in tufts. Below are common terms used to describe Japanese maple leaves.

• Amoenum: Leaves are divided less than 2/3 of the way to the base.
• Palmate: Leaves are divided 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to the base.
• Matsumurae: Leaves are divided more than 3/4 of the way to the base.
• Dissectum: Leaves are deeply divided into lobes and sub-lobes; described as lacy, dainty or ferny.
• Linearilobum: Leaves are divided all the way to the base; described as strap-, ribbon-, or bamboo-like.

There are few trees that can add such beauty.

Order:  Sapindales

Family: Sapindaceae.  formerly Aceraceae (maple)

Genus:  Acer

Family | Sapindaceae (formerly Aceraceae)