PlantsTrees
Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum
Zone 6a garden plant. Hardy through a Chicago winter unless the note says to pot it.
A small tree for a protected east side
ModerateTrees
- Light
- Part shade–sun
- Moisture
- Medium
- Mature size
- 10–20 ft
- Spacing
- 10–15 ft
- Bloom or harvest
- Foliage spring to fall; tiny spring flowers
- How it spreads
- Small tree
- What to buy
- A hardy cultivar, not the cheapest red leaf in a grocery pot.
- When to plant
- Plant April.
In the design
It lives in Chicago when the spot is right: morning sun, shelter from winter wind, no road salt. A west brick wall and a parkway kill it. Mulch the root, don't bury the trunk, and don't promise a 40-foot shade tree.
