Sagara Nishiki Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Sagara Nishiki’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-9a (9b with mostly shade?) Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: maybe 7-8′ at 10 years of age; 12′-14′ at maturity

Width at Maturity: maybe 3-3.5′ at 10 years of age; 5-6′ at maturity

Growth Habit / Form: Columnar

Growth Rate: Slow to Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: Light Green with Buttery Yellow to Pink margins

Foliage Color in Summer: Dark Green with Yellow margins and variegation

Foliage Color in Fall: Vivid Yellow and Orange shades

Light Needs: 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 (amend heavy clay to ensure good drainage), Loam, Sandy, Silt

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

Soil pH: 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal

Maintenance: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Deer, Heat Tolerant, Insect, Disease

Description

One of if not the best of the golden variegated Japanese Maple varieties we’ve ever grown, ‘Sagara Nishiki’ is a stunning small tree with a columnar habit 12 to 14 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide at maturity. The 5 to 7 lobed palmate leaves emerge light green to chartreuse in spring with lobes having a buttery yellow top pinkish-orange margin and spotting. As the season progresses the leaves become darker green with the variegation intensifying to brighter yellow as the season progresses, which makes the tree almost look yellow from a distance. With the arrival of cooler temperatures in fall the leaves turn to a striking yellow with orange. We suggest filtered sun or shade during the hot afternoon hours to ensure the best foliage color. It’s narrow habit and smaller stature make Sagara Nishiki a perfect selection for smaller garden spaces, containers or as an accent tree in home foundation plantings and around outdoor living spaces.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, the Sagara Nishiki Japanese Maple is best used as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. Its smaller stature and columnar form make it a perfect fit where space is limited, in containers, and in home foundation plantings. Two can be used to frame an entrance and a grouping of 3 is really nice where space will allow.

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 groundcover plants that won’t interfere with or overcrowd your tree.

Growing Preferences

Though delicate looking, Japanese Maples are actually very tough and long-lived trees. They are very 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 Sagara Nishiki prefer to be grown in similar conditions. Morning and evening sun are fine but coloration and overall performance will be best with some shade or filtered sun during the afternoon hours. 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 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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