‘Floating Cloud’ Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Ukigumo’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-8a Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 10-15′

Width at Maturity: 8-10′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, vase shape

Growth Rate: Slow to Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: White, Green, Pink

Foliage Color in Summer: White, Cream and Green

Foliage Color in Fall: Golden-Yellow Shades with Red flecks

Light Needs: Morning Sun with Afternoon Shade or Mostly Shade

Water Needs: Average

Soil Type: Sandy, Loam & Clay (Condition heavy clay soils when planting)

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, Shade

Description

A showpiece and conversation piece in the landscape, ‘Ukigumo’, commonly known as the Floating Japanese Maple, is one of the most intensely white-variegated upright Japanese Maples in spring and is perfect to showcase a shady spot in the landscape. From a distance, the small green, white and pink variegated leaves appear nearly all white and have an ethereal effect. Leaves turn a golden-yellow often splashed with red flecks in fall to gold in fall. All grown up Floating Cloud might reach 10 to 15 feet tall by 8 to 10 feet wide, which makes it a fine candidate for both containers and garden beds.

Please Note: The leaves of a young Floating Cloud Japanese Maple tree you receive from us might display more green leaves than variegated. In the years to come, when your tree acclimates and has settled down in its new home, it will display the standard white and pink variegation. It is well worth the wait!

Also Note: Though the Floating Cloud Japanese maple will grow in the deep South (USDA Zones 8a-9a) however the heat seems to keep the variegation permanently away. Therefore, we think it is not a good selection for the deep South.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, the Floating Cloud 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, in larger landscape spaces groupings of three are spectacular. Too, one can be planted on both sides of an entryway to accentuate and frame the entrance.

Suggested Spacing: At least 14 feet apart for space between trees

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 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 very easy to grow and long-lived trees. Container culture can extend their useful range, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai. How to Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In A Pot

In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally the Floating Cloud Japanese Maple prefers to be grown in similar conditions. Avoid direct afternoon sun on this variety. Filtered sun during the afternoon is okay.

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 get 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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