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Japanese Maples: Luxury Lace

© Carol Wallace

The first plant I ever fell in love with so deeply that I would do almost anything to get it wasn't the typical hollyhock, delphinium or rose that lures so many people into gardening. My first love was small and totally green - a tiny Japanese maple in a one gallon pot with a whopping $50 price tag.

Its leaves were like lace, and it already showed signs that it would one day cascade like a leafy waterfall through the center of my garden. I wanted it. My husband took one look at this small plant with the large price tag and said no.

Two weeks later he went out of town, and I raced back to the nursery, checkbook in hand, brought it home and planted it as the centerpiece of my new raised bed. It was so tiny at the time that he never even noticed.

That tiny tree, eight years later, is everything it promised to be and more - and my husband now looks at it and proclaims "That tree is one of the best things in the yard."

Only one of the best things, though - because they're like potato chips. It's hard to stop at one.

The best thing about these trees is that they can usually fit into all but the tiniest garden, and most can grow quite happily in zones 4 through 8 - although some are more tender than others. They come in a huge variety of sizes, from a few that grow only a foot or two tall to some that can reach 35-40 feet with age. And they come in an amazing array of colors, from green to blackish red, with an array of variegations in between.

My first purchase was Acer palmatum dissectum 'Viridis' - a silvery green leafed variety that cascades. You can stake this tree when young to give it more height, or, as I did, simply allow it to flow through the bed like a green wave. Most of the dissectum varieties exhibit this cascading form and look magnificent by the side of a pond or even as a foundation planting, tying house to earth in extravagant frills of foliage. Because mine was never staked it will remain relatively low - perhaps 6' tall but a very old 'Viridis' staked can attain a height of about 12 feet with an equal spread.

The garden it calls home is in full sun - although normally Japanese maples prefer a bit of shade. The nursery owner warned me that it would look a bit crispy the first year, but assured me that it would adapt. It did, beautifully.