Summer Gold Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Summer Gold’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-9a Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 10-12′

Width at Maturity: 6-8′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Vase Shape to Rounded

Growth Rate: Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: Light Green with Orange cast

Foliage Color in Summer: Golden Yellow

Foliage Color in Fall: Intense Bright Yellow

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: 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 – more info, Heat Tolerant, Insect Resistant, Sun Tolerant

Description

Living up to its name, the Summer Gold Japanese Maple is adorned with bright golden-yellow leaves that hold their stunning color throughout the summer. The leaves don’t burn in full sun and the heat and humidity here in our north-central Georgia gardens don’t phase it. Leaves emerge light green with an orange cast in the spring turning to golden yellow in summer and then finally an even brighter yellow in the fall. Foliage color isn’t all that’s remarkable about Summer Gold, bright red seeds that push through and above the foliage contrast beautifully with the yellow leaves.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, Summer Gold 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 being said, you can plant them in groupings of three or plant one on both sides of an entryway to accentuate the entrance.

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.

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 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. That said, you can find a complete listing of our sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties here, of which Summer Gold 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!

Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff

Questions? Contact Us!

I have purchased many trees from Wilson Bros and every tree was exceptional. They were packaged so well and arrived in great condition and were very healthy. Summer Gold is a lovely tree with beautiful coloring and foliage.
I have tried other online nurseries but none have reached Wilson Bros level of excellence.
They are my go to place for outstanding plants.————————————Thanks so much for the photo! Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Beautiful tree with balanced branching and large-sized. I love the entire process of ordering these trees from Wilson Brothers. A number one source of larger Japanese maples in my opinion.———————————————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Tree arrived quickly and looked great. Thanks!———————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

My maple arrived healthy and full and responded to the move with no difficulty. It will be a focal part of my landscaping.———————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Was thrilled Wilson Bros. had this Japanese maple in stock. It arrived quickly and in perfect shape, as have all the plants I’ve ordered from this nursery.——————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I have been searching for a Summer Gold Japanese Maple, in at least a 3 gallon pot, for a couple of years. After extensive search I found Wilson Brothers Gardens had what I wanted. Their price was less than other suppliers and they have free shipping. I order one and received the plant in less than a week. It was extremely well packaged. What an absolutely beautiful tree! I highly recommend Wilson Bros. for any yard and garden needs.——————————————————–Thanks for the photos! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Very happy with the management and condition of my order. I was pleasantly surprised that the tree was larger than I expected it to be and appears to be in very good health. I would highly recommend ordering from them.————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I loved my first Summer Gold so much, that I ordered 2 more. I am trying to place some yellow in with my reds so they all will pop. Just like last time, delivery was swift and the trees were in excellent condition. The good way they pack them makes them very moist when delivered. Thank you Wilson Brothers!———————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Tree was very healthy and taller than expected. Roots were moist and tree arrived healthy. Planted tree and it seems to be doing very well. Shipping caused some damage to smaller limbs. Box was clearly marked to handle with care but appears shipper was rough with the box. Wife and I order most everything on line and seems UPS, USPS, FEDEX all are rough on packages from time to time. ——————- WBG Reply: Hi Jim – Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Summer Gold Japanese maple and hope you enjoy it for years to come. Sorry about the damages. Because carriers occasionally handle packages roughly we’re making a few strengthening modifications to our box and the retainer that holds the pot in place even more securely during transit, especially regarding the longer boxes we use for Japanese maples and other taller plants in larger, heavier pots. That said, overall we’re pleased with FedEx about 99% of the time. But being the perfectionists we are we want to work on changing that 1% to 0. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

Very pleased with my Acer Palmatum Summer Gold from the Wilson Bros. The tree was a decent size, in excellent condition, and came packaged very well for shipping. Such a gorgeous chartreuse color!!! I would definitely purchase from Wilson Brothers again! ————————- WBG Reply: Hi Sonia – Thanks so much for your review of the Summer Gold Japanese Maple. We agree, the foliage color is truly outstanding and in intensifies during summer. We hope you enjoy it for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens