Queen Of The Maples

By Laurie Casey
The Morton Arboretum

Our sugar maple trees brighten fall days with kaleidoscopes of color. Their Asian cousins, the Japanese maples, seem to concentrate color like lasers. They are smaller, but more intense. Some varieties glow like they’re plugged into a wall outlet.  

Japanese maples balance their brazen color with fine, understated architecture. “They are the queens of the maples,” said Assistant Director of Collections Kunso Kim at The Morton Arboretum, home to some of the most beautiful Japanese maple varieties anywhere in Chicagoland. “They have a smaller stature than other maples. Many have a wide-spreading crown and delicate, deeply lobed, hand-shaped leaves.”

Their amazing range of orange, red and purple fall colors can be described as “vivid,” “bold” and “fluorescent.” Some have thin leaves that are translucent in sunlight, like stained-glass windows. What’s more, many Japanese maples give another gorgeous one- or two-month-long color display in the spring when new leaves emerge.

Growing Japanese maples in our area is challenging, but rewarding. These maples flourish in milder climates with cooler summers and less harsh winters, such as in Japan, Korea, Great Britain and the Pacific Northwest, according to Kim. “They like light, dappled shade and well-drained, slightly acidic soil with a pH around 7 or 6.5 or below,” said Kim.

Intense sun can damage these trees, so choosing the right planting site is important. Many gardeners use Japanese maples as focal points in shade gardens. Five different types grow at the Arboretum, and some are more than 80 years old. “Most of them are growing under old oak trees with high canopies. The soil is moist and rich in organic matter,” said Kim.

With more than 250 cultivars bred over the last three centuries, Japanese maples are prized for their great variety. Some have multicolored leaves. Others have cork-like bark. Some dwarf varieties barely reach 3 feet. But not all are suited to our climate. Kim shared a few of his favorite Japanese maples that do well in our area.

Burgundy Lace Japanese maple is a 20-foot-high by 20-foot-wide tree. As the name implies, it’s a dark wine red in spring and summer. As summer progresses, the leaves take on a bronze cast, but the color remains red in fall.

Fullmoon maple, a small tree that can reach 20-feet tall, has golden yellow spring foliage. In summer leaves turn chartreuse and set off striking red flower clusters. In fall, leaves turn orange and scarlet, sometimes with purple undertones.

Emperor I is a slightly taller tree reaching up to 30-feet tall. It displays deep purple-red leaves that turn dark crimson in fall. Because leaves are thin they glow in sunlight.

Crimson Queen Japanese maple is a 10-foot-high shrub with wide-spreading, cascading branches. It shows deep red foliage all summer. In fall, leaves turn an orange-scarlet color.

Shaina Japanese maple forms a compact, 10-foot-high shrub. Its young leaves emerge bright red, then a dark purple-red in summer, and finally a bright crimson in fall.    

And finally, Bloodgood Japanese maple, one of the hardiest in our area, is readily available in nurseries.  

Glad You Asked

Q. How does our native sugar maple compare to Japanese maples?
A. The leaves of Japanese maples have distinct lobes, either five or seven, while sugar maple leaves look webbed, like a duck’s foot. Japanese maples are smaller, maxing-out at 30-feet compared to 75 for sugar maples. America’s quintessential fall color tree, the sugar maple, ranges from banana yellow to crimson red, often with a predominantly orange cast. While many Japanese maples are golden in fall, some of the most “electric” are true red or even purple.

Q. What can I add to my alkaline soil to make it suitable for a Japanese maple?
A. The Arboretum Plant Clinic recommends granular sulphur.

At the Arboretum
Find out why most people love oak trees, the most dominant tree group in North America, in “The Oaks of Illinois.” Author Guy Sternberg leads an entertaining discussion, 10 a.m. to noon, November 21. $30 (discount for members). Registration now open. Call (630) 719-2468.

Laurie Casey is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum.