Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Group/Class:  Dissectum

Description:

An outstanding small home feature tree, this cultivar is valued for its stunning fall colors in bright shades of orange with yellow highlights, and its shapely growth habit; give it a prominent place in the landscape

Ornamental Features

Orange Flame Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It features subtle corymbs of red flowers rising above the foliage in mid spring before the leaves. It has light green deciduous foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The lobed palmate leaves turn outstanding shades of orange and yellow in the fall. The rough gray bark and orange branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Orange Flame Japanese Maple is an open deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Orange Flame Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade
• Mass Planting

Planting & Growing

Orange Flame Japanese Maple will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.