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What kind of Japanese Maple

hepcatzcoffeehouse

16 years ago

I'm doing a bunch of yard work for my mother in law and I would like to get a Japanese maple for her. I'm not sure what one to go with. I'm looking for one that will grow taller than 10 ft but no taller than 15 ft, Has the lace like leaf, maintains different color other than green throughout the summer like red or purple. And will grow well in the Milwaukee, Wi. area. If anyone has any ideas of what variation of Japanese maple to go with please respond.

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Comments (6)

mattnova
16 years ago
If you want something that is red, laceleaf and taller than 10 feet you limit yourself. Most dissectums(laceleafs) cap out about 10 feet, especially the red ones. Since there are so many cultivars, maybe someone will have a idea for you though.

I am not familiar with the less common and rare ones. Seiryu gets the height you want but unfortunately is green.

Costco here in Virginia sells upright Tamukeyamas that are high grafted and you can get them 6-8 feet tall with roughly a 1" diameter trunk for about 90 bucks which is pretty good for the size. They are not full grown and are high staked. I expect a high grafted, high staked Tamukeyama such as these just may break 10 feet.
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kaitain4
16 years ago
I think that's going to be tough. You're in Zone 4 for plant hardiness, and Japanese Maples are hardy to about Zone 5. Maybe there are some that can make it there, but one of the experts will have to tell you. The only option I can think of is to put it in a big pot that could be moved into a garage during the winter. I've seen some nice ones with wheels that you can move around pretty easily.

As far as tall red lace-leaf varieties, I think it really depends on how you train them . They all are weeping to some extent, so I think the height is controlled by staking and training the branches to grow higher. The variety called 'Red Dragon' can get to 12' tall if staked, according to the catalogs.

Regards,

K4
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The trees need to remain outside but they also need protection from the cold. The easiest way is to just dig a hole in the garden soil and sink the pots in up to their lip. Really no need to water - rainfall and snow will take care of that. If for some reason that is not possible, the little trees can be stored somewhere overwinter where it stays cold but above freezing - garage, unheated basement, root cellar. Light is not an issue but you want a temperatures that remains right around 35-40F. btw, it really doesn't matter what kind of Japanese maple the seedlings came from - they are not the same as the parent tree and are just generic species JM's. And watch out for the variegated leafed plant peaking around the base of the container in the bottom photo!! That is chameleon plant. Houttunyia cordata, and it is an incredibly aggressively spreading garden thug.
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dawgie
16 years ago
Your biggest issue is going to be hardiness. The climate in Milwaukee is pretty marginal for Japanese maples, although one might survive in a protected area.

The only red laceleaf that grows upright is Lion Heart. I'm not sure if it would be hardy in WI or not. You might try something like "Johin," which is a hybrid between Acer palmatum and A. shirasawnum and might be hardier. Bloodgood and Emperor are red-leafed varieties of A. palmatum that have reputations for being hardier than most, but neither are laceleaf (nor is Johin).
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mattnova
16 years ago
Yea, I thought of the hardiness being a issue but I seen a guy the other day that grows JM's in Alaska so I guess you have to decide if you want a high maintainance tree or not. Precautions might have to be taken over winter. How are the winter winds out there in your area?
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arktrees
16 years ago
Not all of Alaska is as terrible cold as most think. Not saying it doesn't get cold, but allot of the southern coast is Maritime in weather, and get a great deal of protection from the truly cold stuff by mountain ranges and the influence of the Pacific Ocean.
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dawgie
16 years ago
Well, my brother lives just west of Chicago (Geneva, IL) and has several Japanese maples. He has a Crimson Queen, a red dissectum variety, that has survived in a pretty protected area but it does have some dieback after hard winters. He got an Acer shirasawanum variety a couple of years ago but I don't think it survived the first spring, although they are considered more winter hardy.
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