Growing the Weeping Full Moon Maple

Size and Appearance

The Weeping Full Moon Maple is a moderate-growing small deciduous tree, usually with several stems. In good growing conditions, it should be at least 4 feet tall and wide within 10 years, growing larger every year. It matures over time into a broad, mounding bush, reaching 6 or possibly 8 feet tall and spreading between 6 and even 10 feet across. The branches spread wide, forming broad umbrellas, very different from the normal upright form of the Full Moon Maple. The smooth, reddish-brown bark of young branches becomes rough and more textured as it ages, and the network of branches is a beautiful sight in winter.

The leaves emerge in early spring, a bright, glowing chartreuse green, maturing to a bright green over summer. The large leaves are rounded and 3 to almost 6 inches across. They may be large, but this isn’t obvious, because they are divided into many very slender lobes. Usually between 7 and 11 narrow lobes radiate out from the central leaf stem, and each one divides and divides again, forming amazing delicate lace-like patterns. Every leaf is a work of art. In fall the leaves turn extraordinary shades of yellow, orange and red, often all at the same time, and often climaxing in a ball of fiery red. Full Moon Maples have a reputation for spectacular fall color, and the Weeping Full Moon Maple won’t let you down. Older trees may surprise you with a crop of small, inch-long maple ‘keys’, visible after the leaves fall.

Using the Weeping Full Moon Maple in Your Garden

Wherever you need a low, broad mound of beautiful foliage, the Weeping Full Moon Maple is going to be it. Plant it by a pond, or in the front areas of a bed. Grow it to spread out over boulders, or spill over a low wall. Plant it with other maples – it looks stunning against the classic red-leaf types. Use it as a specimen in an Asian-themed planting, and you can even grow it in a planter – perhaps a beautiful Asian ceramic pot. Make sure any planter you choose has drainage holes.

Hardiness

More cold-resistant than many ‘palmatum’-type Japanese maples, the Weeping Full Moon Maple is reliable throughout zone 5, and should grow in sheltered spots in warmer parts of zone 4 with minimal damage. It enjoys areas with cooler, moist summers, so zone 7 is typically its upper reach, although in the northwest it will grow through the warmer zones of Washington and Oregon. Zone 6 is probably the limit for keeping a plant in a pot outdoors all winter.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

In cooler zones, with good soil moisture, this tree will grow perfectly in full sun, and develop excellent fall color. In most areas, though, it is best to compromise, with morning sun but light shade in the afternoon. Too much shade will reduce the vigor, and produce fewer red shades in fall. The perfect soil is rich, always moist, but well-drained, although well-established plants can tolerate some dryness in summer. Add plenty of organic material when planting, and use it every year or two as mulch, covering the whole root zone. Water young plants regularly, and give established ones a deep soak during summer dry spells.

Maintenance and Pruning

Generally free of any significant pest or disease problems, the Weeping Full Moon Maple is actually easy to grow if you have a good location and appropriate watering. Apart from removing any dead twigs in spring, as the leaves are emerging, it needs no pruning – let it develop its natural form.

History and Origin of the Weeping Full Moon Maple

The beauty of Japanese maples never ends, and their world spreads wide, including not just the many, many varieties of the normal ‘Japanese maple’, Acer palmatum, but other species as well. The most prized and coveted in Japan is the Full Moon Maple, confusingly called Acer japonicum by botanists. The romantic name ‘Full Moon’ evokes the way the leaflets fan out into an almost perfect circle, and it’s a name that in Japan is also given to another maple, Acer shirasawanum. A popular variety of Full Moon Maple is ‘Aconitifolium’, which has deeply-dissected leaves that resemble lace, similar to the Dissectum group of Acer palmatum. In the late 1960s the nurseryman Arthur ‘Art’ Wright found a seedling, presumably of ‘Aconitifolium’, that had similar leaves, but whose branches spread outwards and cascaded downwards. Art worked closely with the famous J. D. Vertrees, whose nursery in southern Oregon was a pilgrimage site for maple enthusiasts (his book on Japanese maples is the bible for all maple lovers). Art Wright had a reputation for only releasing the very best of any new plants he found. So he didn’t release many, but those he did were always the highest quality. He named his beautiful new maple tree ‘Green Cascade’, releasing it in 1973. It is sometimes offered with that name, and also as the Weeping Full Moon Maple – there isn’t another one.

Buying the Weeping Full Moon Maple at the Tree Center

This wonderful tree was given the highly-coveted Award of Garden Merit in 2012 by Britain’s prestigious Royal Horticultural Society. A plant needs no further recommendation than that. Sought after by collectors, the Weeping Full Moon Maple always remains elusive and in short supply. We found some beautiful young trees for you, but don’t hesitate – they will soon all be gone.

Growing the Hime Shojo Japanese Maple

Size and Appearance

The Hime Shojo Japanese Maple is a deciduous dwarf tree, growing no more than 6 inches a year and reaching perhaps 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide in about 10 years. It will continue to add a few inches each year after that, but stay compact and shrubby, and always broader than it is tall, like a rounded bun. The young stems are deep red, and older bark is light brown, with small lines on it, perhaps like miniature calligraphy.

The leaves are small, usually no more than 1½ long, and divided into 5, or sometimes 7, narrow lobes, cut almost to the leaf stalk. They are like fingers on a tiny hand, each lobe tapering to a graceful point, and with fine serrations along their edges. New leaves are bright cherry-red, most noticeably in spring of course, but also continuing with the new leaves produced during summer. As they mature they turn to the classic deep burgundy we think of as ‘red-leaf maple. That color holds well all through summer in all but the hottest zones, where some green may develop. It brightens again in fall, adding to that glorious season. Older trees may produce some miniature red maple keys, but they are not profuse in this variety.

Using the Hime Shojo Japanese Maple in Your Garden

This variety is perfect if you want a beautiful Japanese maple but don’t have much room. It would be lovely in a smaller shrub bed, on terracing, or at the edge of a path. Plant it in a rock garden, or beside a Japanese stone lantern. In zone 6 or warmer it could be grown in a pot left outdoors all winter – in colder areas bury the pot for the coldest months. And of course, the small leaves and compact growth make it perfect for a bonsai tree – remove some of the central stems to give it a more mature look, and perhaps wire some branches to accentuate the horizontal form. It would look superb in a glazed dish on a table.

Hardiness

The Hime Shojo Japanese Maple is hardy in zone 5, and reliable into all but the hottest zones. It is easier to grow in regions with cooler and damper summers, but with a little extra care it can be grown all through zone 8.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

If you plant your Hime Shojo Japanese Maple in full sun it will have the strongest leaf colors, and stay redder through summer, but that has to be balanced against your climate. If you have hot and dry summers then the risk of leaf-burn is higher in full sun, so some afternoon shade is probably better. Leaves turning green is as much related to high temperatures as to shade, so light shade is often preferable. This plant is not drought-resistant and grows best in rich, moist but well-drained soils. Avoid hot, dry areas and very wet areas. It grows in all soil types except for heavy clays and very alkaline soils, and enriching the soil with organic material, and using it every year or two for mulch over the root-zone, is going to give the best results.

Maintenance and Pruning

Regularly watering, especially during dry weather, is always appreciated by Japanese maples. Compost or rotted leaves spread over the root-zone (avoid the trunk and any low branches) is a great way to conserve moisture and feed your tree at the same time. Trees in containers should be fed regularly in spring and early summer with liquid tree fertilizer, or an all-purpose balanced plant food. This tree normally won’t suffer from pests or diseases and is not difficult to grow.

History and Origin of the Hime Shojo Japanese Maple

The Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, certainly has more varieties that any other tree we grow. The earliest ones were developed in Japan, where an appreciation of the beauty of this tree is centuries old. New varieties continue to be discovered, and it seems that the variety called ‘Hime-shojo’ was found as a novel dwarf branch on a tree of an older, larger red-leaf maple called ‘Shojo-namura’. That variety dates back to 1967, while ‘Hime-shojo’ was released in Japan in 1994. It has only recently made its way to America. Shojo in Japanese is used to indicate red-leaves on maples, and while hime can mean ‘small’, referring to the leaf size, hime-shojo means a ‘virgin princess’, both a clever word-play and a reference to the ‘perfect’ nature of this small tree.

Buying the Hime Shojo Japanese Maple at the Tree Center

Since its introduction into the US a few years back, the Hime Shojo Japanese Maple has been catching a lot of attention. It has become one of the most desirable dwarf varieties available, and it’s widely featured. So order your tree now, because these plants will soon all be gone, and we wouldn’t want you to miss out.

Easier to grow than many Japanese maples, and more tolerant of shade, there are so many ways you can make this beauty a part of your garden. Plant it with other small shrubs and miniature trees in your beds; grow it in every Asian-themed courtyard or garden; enjoy it in a pot on a terrace or balcony, or turn it into a beautiful bonsai tree – perhaps your introduction to that fascinating art and hobby. Heck, just find a place for it – it won’t be hard – and enjoy something unique that will become a household favorite – go on, do something special for yourself.

Growing the Baby Buttons Vine Maple

Size and Appearance

The Baby Buttons Vine Maple is a miniature deciduous tree that grows like a small shrub. It grows as a cluster of short, upright stems forming a rounded bush, adding a couple of inches of new growth each year. In 10 years it will be about 2 feet tall and wide, gradually growing larger the longer you have it, and becoming more beautiful and special with each passing year. The smooth, glossy young stems are green and often red on the upper side. Older stems become rougher and light gray in color. The leaves are more or less circular, but divided into between 7 and 11 slender, pointed lobes. They are the size of a fingertip, and certainly no more than one inch across, where the wild tree has leaves of 4 to 5 inches. The tips of the lobes tend to curl downwards slightly, and the leaves are densely clustered on the branches.

Young spring leaves are a delicate orange-pink, maturing to bright green, with a smooth, glossy surface. Throughout the summer they remain a cooling green, and then in fall turn to deep, rich tones of oranges and reds. When grown in shade the fall colors will be softer, with more yellows. Along with the spring leaves clusters of tiny red flowers may form, mostly on older plants. This may mature into small maple ‘keys’ that mature to reds and then light browns. These will decorate the tree for weeks after the leaves fall.

Using the Baby Buttons Vine Maple in Your Garden

A small, special tree like this deserves a prime location in your garden. Plant it in a shrub bed near your home, where you will see it close-up. Grow it on the terraces of a retaining wall, or in a raised bed. Plant it in a damp rock garden. It is a prime candidate for growing in a container – perhaps a special pot (although it must have drainage holes). It could stand on a terrace, patio, porch or balcony. Definitely add it to an Asian or Japanese-style garden, and for something very special, turn it into a unique and startlingly beautiful bonsai tree.

Hardiness

The Baby Buttons Vine Maple is a little more cold-resistant than many Japanese maples, and can be easily grown in zone 5. We have reports of it growing in sheltered places in the warmer end of zone 4. It grows in all warmer zones too, preferring areas with damp summers that aren’t too hot, and mild winters.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Your Baby Buttons Vine Maple will be happy in full sun, perhaps with a little afternoon shade in summer in hot zones – plants in pots can easily be moved around to keep in the ideal spot. This plant is also more shade-tolerant than Japanese maples, and it’s a great choice for shadier beds, where it will grow with just a couple of hours of shade each day, or even in full, light, dappled shade under trees, as long as the soil isn’t dry. It grows best in damp, rich, well-drained soil and it is best not to expose it too dry soil conditions very much.

Maintenance and Pruning

Usually pest and disease-free, watering and some liquid fertilizer for plants in pots is about all it takes to succeed with this great little tree. It doesn’t need any pruning unless you are training it as a bonsai. Don’t let it dry out in the summer much, or the leaves could shrivel and burn. Should any branches with large leaves grow – unlikely but possible – remove them immediately. Otherwise, sit back and contemplate the special beauty and charm of this unique tree.

History and Origin of the Baby Buttons Vine Maple

The vine maple, Acer circinatum, is only found in a small area within 200 miles of the Pacific, from southern-most British Columbia through Oregon and Washington and just into the beginning of northern California. Its closest relatives are not our sugar or red maples, but the full-moon maples of Japan, Acer japonicum and Acer shirasawanum. With rounded leaves, those close relatives of the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, are relatively hard to grow, so the vine maple is a great alternative. Trees sometimes produce perfect miniature branches, sprouting from normal limbs. These are called witch’s brooms, and that is the origin of the vine maple variety called Baby Buttons. It was found in the Flora Wonder Arboretum of Buchholz & Buchholz Nursery, a famous nursery in Gaston, Oregon, which specializes in Japanese maples and their relatives.

Buying the Baby Buttons Vine Maple at the Tree Center

Among the more common trees and shrubs we grow it is great to have something rare, special and wonderful. That is how we feel about the Baby Buttons Vine Maple, and we know you will too. We only found a handful of plants, and ardent collectors scour the internet for beauties like this. So they will sell out fast – order now to be sure you get one, it will be a wonderful boost to your gardening life.

Growing the ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple

Size and Appearance

The ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple is a medium-sized deciduous tree with an upright trunk, radiating branches, and a dense, upright crown that is round to oval, staying branched close to the ground if you don’t prune it up. It is relatively fast-growing, among the fastest of all the Japanese maples, reaching 15 feet within 10 years, under good growing conditions. The young stems are smooth, glossy and dark red – so dark they are almost black. Older stems become rugged and rougher, turning dark purplish-brown. The dark color gives a striking winter effect.

The leaves are up to 5 inches long and wide, divided into 5 or 7 long, narrow lobes which reach right to the base of the leaf. Each lobe is edged in many tiny serrations, with a pronounced vein down the center. Spring color is deep red, more red and not as dark as ‘Bloodgood’, making a spectacular feature in any garden. It also stays red through summer, except in the hottest regions. Even there it keeps its color much longer, and you can expect it to be mid-August before it becomes more bronzy and then a dark reddish-green if you have hot summers. Then, in early fall, as soon as the nights begin to cool, they turn a wonderful, striking scarlet, a fabulous effect you are going to love. Older trees develop clusters of small maple keys, which are deep red, appearing as if by magic as soon as the leaves fall, and brightening the tree through much of the winter.

Using the ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple in Your Garden

As a specimen tree – on a lawn or in beds – for a smaller garden, the ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple can’t be beaten. It can be grown beside your house or out on the lawn, along a drive or as a focal-point across the garden. With its dense growth, it would make a spectacular screen along a boundary or fence. It can be grown in planter boxes and tubs as well, in zones 6 onwards.

Hardiness

This tree is fully cold-resistant in zone 5, and will also grow in most of zone 4 with minimal or no winter damage. It grows all through warmer zones, preferring damper summers, and being more difficult to grow in areas with very hot, dry summers. It would probably grow even in zone 9, but there can be some issues with lack of winter cold when growing most Japanese maples in that zone. We recommend varieties like the coral-bark Japanese maple, ‘Sango-kaku’, for zone 9.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

In cooler zones you can definitely grow the ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple in full sun, as long as the ground isn’t too dry. In most areas, some light shade, preferably in the afternoon, is best. The light dappled shade beneath larger deciduous trees is also very suitable. The best fall colors develop if there is at least a few hours of direct sunlight on the tree in that season. The ideal soil is deep, rich loam that is moist but well-drained. However, most reasonable garden soils will support this tree if they are enriched with generous amounts of organic materials like composts of all kinds or well-rotted manures.

Maintenance and Pruning

Water regularly during the first couple of years, and mulch in spring with some rich organic materials. Water established trees during dry spells as needed, soaking deeply, as this tree has only limited drought resistance. If it should scorch in summer from drought this rarely has long-term consequences unless it happens for several years in a row, when trees will be weakened. Pests and diseases are rarely an issue, and in the right conditions this is an easy tree to grow. You can prune it as you like, in early summer preferably, for a taller trunk or a bushy form, but prune as it grows, not once it is mature, to keep the trunks free of scars.

History and Origin of the ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple

The Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, grows naturally in Japan, Korea and parts of China. The first trees to arrive in America and Europe in the second-half of the 19th century caused a sensation, as the Japanese had been collecting special forms of them for centuries. Varieties with colored leaves in spring and summer have always been incredibly popular and a very early introduction was ‘Tanabata’. This was superseded in 1857 by a variety called ‘Atropurpureum’, introduced in Europe by the Belgian nursery of Louis Benoît van Houtte. America’s oldest nursery was Bloodgood Nurseries, in Flushing, New York, and at some point they released an improved seedling grown from ‘Atropurpureum’ that became the well-known variety ‘Bloodgood’. Since then there have been several varieties discovered as seedlings of ‘Bloodgood’. That is how Princeton Nurseries, in Princeton, New Jersey, gave us ‘Crimson Prince’, released in 1988. They were granted a patent (PP# 7,217) in 1990, now expired, based on the faster growth and better summer color of their plant.

Buying the ‘Crimson Prince’ Japanese Maple at the Tree Center

If you covet a red-leaf Japanese maple, you can do no better than to choose ‘Crimson Prince’. Fast-growing, with durable and bright summer color and spectacular fall colors, this vigorous and reliable tree is a winner. Let it win for you, but order quickly – we can’t keep great trees like this in stock for long.

Growing the Glowing Embers Japanese Maple

Size and Appearance

The Glowing Embers Japanese Maple is an upright small tree that grows to about 20 feet tall, with a broad spread that in time becomes wider than its height. This is a vigorous tree, not a slow-growing dwarf, and you can expect your tree to be 15 feet tall within 10 years of planting it. The smooth bark is light brown, with darker vertical markings, and the young stems are greenish. The branches grow upwards, arching outwards as they develop and mature.

The graceful leaves are 2 to 3 inches long, divided into 7 long, slender lobes like the fingers of a hand. Although graceful and elegant the lobes are not so narrow that they scorch or wither in the summer heat. The edges of the leaves are cut into fine serrations, adding extra charm. In spring the new leaves are pale green, on red stalks, and often flushed with pink. As they mature they turn a beautiful rich green, holding that color through the summer without scorching or burning. As fall arrives the fun begins, with the foliage passing through many shades of red, orange and gold, often turning a brilliant orange all over. The fall color develops late, extending the pleasure of that season, particularly in the warmest areas. Older trees may develop clusters of miniature maple keys, adding a decorative winter charm.

Using the Glowing Embers Japanese Maple in Your Garden

If you have a smaller garden and want a suitable shade tree, look no further. This tree is perfect for shading a small courtyard or a table for two, or for planting out on a lawn as a specimen. Grow it in any Asian-style or modern garden, or among shrubs and evergreens in a traditional American garden – it looks great anywhere. It can also be grown for years in a tub or large planter box in zone 7 or warmer zones.

Hardiness

The Glowing Embers Japanese Maple is nature’s gift to southern gardeners. It is hardy all the way from zone 5 to zone 10, and relishes the heat and humidity of the South, where almost all other Japanese maples perish. Yet it also thrives in cooler zones, and it can be grown almost everywhere with great success.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun is suitable for the Glowing Embers Japanese Maple, but some afternoon shade in warmer zones is desirable. It also thrives in light overhead shade from taller deciduous trees, or on the shady north side of a building under a clear sky. The ideal soil is rich in organic material, moist and yet well-drained. Enrich the soil before planting, and use mulch to keep the roots cool and moist.

Maintenance and Pruning

Although tough and heat resistant, this tree is not highly drought resistant, and it appreciates regular watering, especially during summer and in a dry spring. Mulch each spring, but otherwise little attention is needed. Pests and diseases are rare and once established this tree is easy to grow and trouble-free. To develop a taller tree, prune up into one or a few main stems, removing lower branches gradually over time, while they are small, to avoid scarring. The crown can also be trimmed a little, and thinned out to develop a more mature look. Or, you can leave your tree to happily grow naturally, without much attention at all.

History and Origin of the Glowing Embers Japanese Maple

Michael Dirr is a well-known plant expert and a professor at the University of Georgia in Athens. Being ‘good’ with plants means being observant, and for 25 years he watched a Japanese maple tree growing on the university’s campus. Where it came from is unknown, but he saw how it didn’t scorch or suffer in the hot summers, and always put on a brilliant fall show. He decided it deserved to be made available to gardeners, and introduced it to nurseries as ‘Glowing Embers’.

Buying the Glowing Embers Japanese Maple at the Tree Center

This tree won the Georgia Gold Medal for Best Tree in 2005. This award is from a non-profit organization of growers, garden centers, landscapers, and professional horticulturists, and their award is the stamp of approval for this tree as suitable for the South. Wherever you live you will love it, but order now, as these special trees sell out very, very quickly.