Pixie Dwarf Red Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Pixie’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-9a Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 8-10′

Width at Maturity: 6-8′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright

Growth Rate: Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: Burgundy Red

Foliage Color in Summer: Burgundy to Maroon

Foliage Color in Fall: Bright Scarlet-Red

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

Water Needs: Average, moderately drought tolerant when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty (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, Heat Tolerant, Insect Resistant, Sun Tolerant

Description

Very similar to the ever-popular larger growing Bloodgood Japanese Maple, Pixie Dwarf is a cute miniature version growing only 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide, making it a perfect selection for smaller garden spaces and pots, planters and other containers. As with Bloodgood, the leaves of Pixie Dwarf are a bright red in spring that turns to a burgundy-maroon in summer and closing out the season a stunning bright scarlet in fall. But the foliage isn’t the only attraction, Pixie’s bark is an eye-catching black to red. Pixie will tolerate full sun however will appreciate some filtered sun or shade in the hottest part of the afternoon in the South.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, Pixie Japanese Maple is best used in landscape design as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. That said, in larger landscape spaces it can be useful in groupings or to frame both sides of an entryway.

Suggested Spacing: At least 12 feet for space between trees

Container culture can extend the useful range of Japanese Maples, and Pixie’s smaller stature is perfect for pots, planters and other containers. 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 choosing companions to plant under or around your Japanese Maple, make sure to select low-growing shrubs or groundcover plants 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 and long-lived trees. They are very easy to grow. Container culture can extend their useful range. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai.

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. Pixie Japanese Maple will tolerate full sun in the northern region where it’s listed to grow however will appreciate some shade or filtered sun in the South. That said, you can find a complete listing of our sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties here, of which.

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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