It has beautiful red leaves that turn a darker shade of red in the fall. The green foliage turns red and purple in fall.Īcer palmatum ‘Garnet’ is a small weeping Japanese maple that grows 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 metres) tall, but spreads out 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.6 metres) wide. Most dwarf Japanese maples grow to around 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 metres) tall so they’re perfect for small gardens.Īcer palmatum ‘Coonara Pygmy’ – grows to about 6.5 feet (2 metres) tall and has green foliage that turns orange and red in fall.Īcer cirinatum ‘Little Gem’ grows 3 feet (1 metre) tall to form a rounded shrub. Remove any diseased branches and cut back. The best time to prune Japanese maples is during winter when the trees are dormant.
Dwarf maple varietiesĭwarf Japanese maples are slow-growing compact trees that are ideal for containers, shrub borders and even bonsai. Japanese maple trees can grow 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) per year, reaching 10 to 25 feet (3 to 7.6 metres) after 15 years but you can keep them to a smaller, manageable size with yearly pruning. They need a period of cool winter temperatures to stimulate the buds to grow so they’re not suited to tropical or subtropical areas. Japanese Maples are hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8 but in warm areas young trees will do best in a spot with some afternoon shade to avoid leaf scorch. They grow well in full sun or partial shade but the leaves tend to be brighter in color when they receive full sun.
Japanese maple trees (Acer palmatum) are beautiful trees with spectacular colorful leaves in fall.
