Trees, Ornamental & Bedding Plant: Japanese maples for every reason and season

Japanese maples have been propagated and collected in Japan for centuries. They are a staple of North American gardens, especially in the Pacific Northwest.Landscape designers routinely spec them in designs due to their undemanding nature, varying seasonal colors, different leaf shapes, pleasing textures and winter “bone” structures.

Maples can be used creatively as bonsai, in patio containers or as garden-sized landscape specimens. Japanese maples graciously serve as understory trees for taller background trees, conifers or as border anchors. James T. Sahlstrom, landscape architect from Salem, Ore., has specific favorite maples for landscape projects. Sahlstrom prefers Acer palmatum matsumurae ‘Butterfly’ for its beautiful very narrow variegated green and yellow leaves. “Butterfly is great for those tight areas that you want an upright maple, but don’t want to use the common Acer circinatum ‘Vine Maple,’” he says. Before selecting trees for your next design project, consider the following elements:
 

Design Considerations. Try to match the client’s desire for seasonal color, final size, texture and foliage. When a maple is specified on a plan and the contractor does not use that particular maple, there can be problems in the size or growth of the plant that will negatively impact the overall design. Select a maple that naturally takes shape that fits the space. This keeps pruning to a minimum and results in a happier client with virtually maintenance-free trees.

Selective shaping and thoughtful pruning is best done after leaf fall so the “bones” are exposed and structure can be maximized for presentation purposes.

Japanese conifers that are suitable partners for maples include Pinus parviflora, Chamaecyparis obtusa and Cryptomeria japonica.

Maples co-mingle well with acid-loving smaller growing rhododendrons, azaleas, shrubs, perennials and bulbs.

Graceful Canopies. Japanese Maples come in lacey leaf dissectum forms or pointed palmatum leaf structures.
Either upright or weeping, they are adaptable to many landscape interpretations including Asian-inspired designs.
“Acer palmatum ‘Katsura’ with beautiful color and arching growth makes a beautiful plant to hide something or to sit under and enjoy other plants,” Sahlstrom says. “And yes, there is still a place for Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood.’ I use it sometimes for its color, sometimes just to look through or hide behind. I have seven Japanese maple varieties around my own home – and I love them all.” 

CLICK HERE to see how to select maples by season and usage.

The author is the marketing coordinator for Kraemer’s Nursery in Mt. Angel, Ore.