Green Leaf Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum

Other Names: Acer palmatum ‘Green’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-8b (9 with Afternoon Shade) Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 15-20′

Width at Maturity: 15-20′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Broad, Rounded

Growth Rate: Moderate to Fast

Foliage Color in Spring: Light Green

Foliage Color in Summer: Light to Medium Green

Foliage Color in Fall: Gold, Orange and/or Red shades

Light Needs: Full to Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average

Soil Type: Clay (Amend heavy clay to ensure good drainage, Loam, Sandy, Silty

Drainage: Moist But Well Drained – Well drained soil is a must!

Soil pH: 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal

Maintenance: Low

Resistances: Deer, Heat Tolerant, Insect Resistant, Sun Tolerant

Description

Swedish naturalist C.P. Thunberg introduced Japanese Maples to western society, naming them ‘palmatum’ after the leaves resemblance to open human palms. Acer plamatum, commonly known as Green Leaf Japanese Maple, is the original species, the very first Japanese Maple ever collected in the wild and propagated from seed for use in the landscape. The graceful form provide interest year-round. Though the leaves of this beauty emerge and stay green through the warms seasons, with the arrival of cooler temperatures in fall they turn to shades of gold, orange and/or red. Fast growing and sun tolerant, you can expect up to 20 feet tall and maybe as wide when all grown up. Though naturally lower-branched, as the tree grows lower branches can be removed to expose more trunk.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, Green Leaf Japanese Maple is best used as a specimen to draw attention. That said, you can plant in groupings of three or more in larger landscape spaces. Excellent for proving shade around patios and other outdoor sitting spaces. 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.

Growing Preferences

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

In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally they prefer to be grown in similar conditions. That said, you can find a complete listing of our sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties here, of which Green Leaf is one.

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 find 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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