Plants: Trees

Japanese Maples

Our love of Japanese maples began with our first of many self guided tour of nurseries and gardens in the Pacific Northwest many years ago. The things we love most about J maples are their graceful form and the elegant shape of their leaves. They are great trees for small gardens because most of them are small to medium sized and their canopies are meant to be open and not dense, so that light passes through them and allows plants to grow around them. They are true four season trees. In Spring, when first sprouting leaves, some of them look like they are ablaze in tiny pink or red flowers.Then, for a month or more, their spring foliage can be bright yellow, orange, russet, coral, pink, flame red. Summer sees a change again, and then Fall is ablaze. Their elegant bones are ethereal when covered in white and some have red or yellow branches in winter. There are hundreds if not thousands of cultivars and we are most fortunate to have a number of good sources for them in New England (see Vendors and Mentors page.)

OUR JAPANESE MAPLE CULTIVARS (We begin with our favorites and why):

ACONITIFOLIUM – unusually large and solid fan leaves, glorious blazing orange fall color and first to turn

KATSURA- appears to be covered with tiny bright red flowers as it leafs out in Spring; leaves emerge red, change to apricot /orange/yellow which lasts til midsummer when they become mostly green but continue to push blazing apricot new growth; red stems in winter.

FIREGLOW- bright red spring and fall; holds red in summer

ALPENWEISSE- clean strong dark green and white variegation on skinny finger leaves

SHIGITATSU SAWA- elegant light green leaves w/ dark green veining

OSHIOBENI- brick /orange red foliage

TSUMA GAKI- graceful wide bright green leaves w/strong burgundy edges

RED DRAGON DISSECTUM- graceful dissected leaves retain dark red through summer

ORANGE DREAM- yellow spring foliage lasts well into summer, then bright yellow green

UKIGUMO- white leaves spraypainted with green, like its name, Floating Clouds

OSAKA ZUKI- large leaves, perhaps the brightest red fall color of all J maples

SEIRYU- finely dissected leaves on an upright tree(the only one like this) ; the epitome of grace

OMURAYAMA- mushroom shaped medium tree, bright orange fall color

PEACHES AND CREAM – small tree, delicate green and white variegation

 

KAGIRI NISHIKI
VIRIDIS
KURUI JISHI
BENI MAIKO
BENI OTAKE
PIXIE
BLOODGOOD
KASAGI YAMA
EMERALD LACE
GREEN CASCADE
HIGASAYAMA
RED DRAGON
NURESAGI
FILIGREE
TOBIOSHI
SANGO KAKU
SHIRAWASANUM AUREUM
GARNET
SHIRASAWANUM AUTUMN MOON
HUBB’S RED WILLOW
FASCINATION
FOUR DIFFERENT UNKNOWNS

OTHER SPECIAL MAPLES:
ACER CAMPESTRE CARNIVAL
ACER PULVERULENTUM
ACER NEGUNDO KELLY’S GOLD
ACER NEGUNDO WINTER LIGHTNING
ACER NEGUNDO FLAMINGO
ACER PENNSYLVANICUM HERONSWOOD
ACER PENNSYLVANICUM WHITE TIGRESS
ACER ERYTHROCLADUM
ACER PSEUDOPLATANUS ENSK SUNSET
ACER PSEUDOPLATANUS LEOPOLDII
ACER PSEUDOPLAT. VARIEGATUM

 

Other Trees

 

Conifers