Twombly’s Red Sentinel Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Twombly’s Red Sentinel’

Plant Details

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

Height at Maturity: 10-12′

Width at Maturity: 3-4′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Narrow form

Growth Rate: Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: Brilliant Crimson Red

Foliage Color in Summer: Burgundy

Foliage Color in Fall: Fiery Crimson Red

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

Water Needs: Average

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

Description

With a statuesque, upright and columnar growth habit, the Twombly’s Red Sentinel Japanese Maple is sure to put an impressive exclamation point on your landscape. The color of this magnificent cultivar has Japanese written all over it. The leaves emerge a brilliant red in spring, contrasting wonderfully with the black branches and stems. The leaves then turn to burgundy in summer and end the season in fall a fiery, glowing crimson red. Growing only 3 to 4 feet wide with a height of only 10 to 12 feet makes it the perfect fit for smaller garden spaces and pots, planters and other containers.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, Twombly’s Red 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 two to frame an entryway.

Suggested Spacing: At least 8 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 6a, 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 Twombley’s Red Sentinel 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!