Explore the best Japanese maple varieties! These trees offer colors and graceful leaves, perfect for gardens and patios.
Japanese maple trees are known for their stunning colors and unique leaf shapes. With so many varieties, choosing the right one can be exciting. Some have bright red leaves, while others turn golden in fall. Whether for a garden, patio, or bonsai, these beautiful trees add elegance to any space.
Best Japanese Maple Varieties
1. Emperor One Japanese Maple
Emperor One is a better version of the classic Bloodgood Japanese maple. This small shade tree shows rich red to purple leaves for three seasons. It grows 10 to 15 feet tall and wide when fully grown.
2. Bloodgood Japanese Maple
This Japanese maple is one of the taller varieties, growing up to 15 feet. It has delicate, pretty leaves but also provides some shade for your yard. In spring, new leaves may start out green for a couple of weeks before turning deep burgundy. In fall, they brighten to a rich crimson.
3. Orangeola Japanese Maple
The Orangeola Japanese Maple is a small, weeping tree with beautiful orange to red leaves. It grows 6 to 8 feet tall and wide, making it easy to fit in most spaces. This lace-leaf maple is great for pots and does well in warm climates.
4. Red Dragon Japanese Maple
Red Japanese maples are the most common and popular type of Japanese maple. The ‘Red Dragon’ is a small, slow-growing variety that was developed in New Zealand.
This tree has delicate, fern-like leaves, which is why it’s called a laceleaf maple. In spring, its leaves are bright cherry red, darken in summer, and turn scarlet in fall. With its short height, weeping branches, and wide growth, it looks more like a shrub than a tree. Even in winter, it stands out with its twisted trunk, which becomes more textured as it grows older.
5. Weeping Viridis Japanese Maple
The Viridis Japanese maple has beautiful green leaves that pair well with red and purple varieties. This small, weeping tree looks great in containers. When fully grown, it reaches 6 to 8 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide.
6. Coral Bark Japanese Maple
This small shade tree has beautiful, unique coral-colored bark. The Coral Bark Japanese maple grows well in full sun, even in warm climates. It’s perfect for small yards that need a pop of color and style. Though it’s a Japanese maple, it can grow quite large, sometimes reaching up to 25 feet tall.
7. Crimson Queen Japanese Maple
The Crimson Queen is a beautiful Japanese maple with red, lace-like leaves. This small tree has graceful, drooping branches and grows low to the ground. It can reach about 10 feet tall and wide when fully grown and is great for growing in containers.
8. Inaba Shidare Lace Leaf Japanese Maple
The Inaba Shidare Japanese maple has stunning purple to red leaves. It grows 8 to 10 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, which makes it a great choice for small yards. This compact tree also does well in containers.
9. Tamukeyama Japanese Maple
The Acer palmatum var. dissectum is a smaller, slow-growing shrub with a rounded shape and cascading branches. It usually grows no taller than 12 feet but can spread wider. Its leaves have 7 to 11 deeply cut lobes that reach down to the base, giving them a delicate, feathery look. Because of this, it is often called laceleaf, cutleaf, or threadleaf Japanese maple. The word “dissectum” means “deeply cut,” describing the finely divided appearance of its leaves.
10. Butterfly Variegated Japanese Maple
This small tree grows upright and has eye-catching variegated leaves. Its compact size makes it perfect for small spaces. The Butterfly Japanese maple can grow up to 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide when fully grown.
