Butterfly Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Butterfly’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-8b Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 8-12′

Width at Maturity: 6-8′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Vase Shape

Growth Rate: Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: Pink, White, Green

Foliage Color in Summer: White,Green

Foliage Color in Fall: Scarlet to Magenta

Light Needs: Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun

Water Needs: Average, moderately drought tolerant when established

Soil Type: Sandy, Loam & Clay (Condition heavy clay soils when planting)

Drainage: Well drained soil is a must!

Soil pH: 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal

Maintenance: Low

Resistances: Deer, Insect, Disease

Description

A tree that always draws attention from visitors to our gardens, the ‘Butterfly’ Japanese Maple is an upright, vase shaped small tree displaying striking white and grey green variegated leaves that light up shady to partially shaded areas in the garden. In spring the leaves are highlighted in pink. In fall the leaves take on a deep scarlet red color. All grown up Butterfly might reach 12 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide and maybe 1/2 that size in containers. Perfect for smaller gardens spaces and home foundation plantings.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, the Butterfly Japanese Maple is best used in the landscape as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. That said, you can plant them in groupings of three or plant one on both sides of an entryway to accentuate the entrance.

Suggested Spacing: At least 12 feet apart for space between trees

Container culture can extend the useful range of Japanese Maples. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai. Click on the link below under Helpful Articles for Japanese Maple container planting instructions.

Note: One Japanese Maple can make a landscape…that is, if you don’t overcrowd it with other trees and plants. Therefore, when selecting companions to plant under or around your Japanese Maple, make sure to select low-growing shrubs or groundcovers that won’t interfere at all with your tree.

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Japanese Maple variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Though delicate looking, Japanese Maples are actually very tough, long-lived trees that are easy to grow in the ground or in containers.

In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally Butterfly prefers to be grown in similar conditions. You can find a complete listing of our sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties here.

Most any average garden soil will grow Japanese Maples. They prefer a moist but well-drained soil rich in organic matter. As with so many other ornamental plants and trees, constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic. So make sure to plant your Japanese Maple in a well-drained site.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to get helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Japanese Maple trees.

How To Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In The Ground

How to Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In A Pot

How To Fertilize And Water A Japanese Maple Tree

How To Prune A Japanese Maple

Plant Long & Prosper!

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