Digging deeperPlant Library

Group/Class:  Dissectum

Description:

A popular high quality small tree with rich deep purple foliage all season long and spectacular fall color in various shades of red and orange, compact and artistic growth habit; demands a place of emminence in the garden

Ornamental Features

Crimson Queen Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its highly ornamental weeping form. It has attractive deep purple deciduous foliage which emerges crimson in spring. The deeply cut ferny palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn outstanding shades of scarlet and orange in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Crimson Queen Japanese Maple is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a rounded form and gracefully weeping branches. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Crimson Queen Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Crimson Queen Japanese Maple will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Crimson Queen Japanese Maple makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.

Colorado Sun Requirements

In Colorado, Japanese maples should only be planted in a location that receives morning sun. No mid-day or afternoon sun.