What features of a Japanese Maple make it so popular?
Japanese maple, scientifically called Acer palmatum, is a popular tree with over 1000 available cultivars or varieties. Features are as follows:
The leaves on some varieties emerge with white edges that fade to green as they age while others have solid green leaves that turn either yellow or orange depending on the species and cultivar.
- Prefers full sun to partial shade
- While some prefer full sun, others prefer those spots that only see the sun's rays for a couple of hours each day.
- Drought tolerant: Will tolerate dry conditions once established. A combination of its ability to survive in drought-like conditions along with its vibrant foliage makes it a common choice for use as a landscape accent tree.
- Easy care: Not picky about soil types and thrives when planted both in warmer climates where it can be outside year-round and cooler climates where it can be kept in a pot and brought inside for the winter. Easy to transplant Seedlings and smaller specimens (less than 6 foot or 1.8 meters) can be dug up and moved without much effort while larger specimens (6 feet/1.8 meters and over) generally take too long to recover from being moved, making it difficult to successfully transport them.
- Unique leaf shape: The leaves of Acer palmatum are maple-like but with deep lobes resembling a hand with three or five fingers coming off each side of the leafstalks, depending on species and cultivar.
- Noted for their bright purple fall color: While most plants grow sparse autumn foliage colors, Japanese maples put on a grand show of bright reds, oranges, purples and yellows.
The leaves on some varieties emerge with white edges that fade to green as they age while others have solid green leaves that turn either yellow or orange depending on the species and cultivar.
- Tolerant of pollution
- Tolerates air-born pollutants like smoke or smog because its leaves' pores shut tight when the air is bad.
- Long-lived maples. Some can live well beyond 100+ years meaning you'll never need to replant due to short life spans.
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