PLANT FINDER
Aratama Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum 'Aratama'
Height: 4 feet
Spread: 4 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 6a
Description:
A beautiful, truly dwarf variety with emerging brick red foliage that matures to dark olive green in summer, then turns flaming orange-red in fall; a low mounded habit with great texture; an ideal selection for gardens, containers, or bonsai
Ornamental Features
Aratama Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its interestingly mounded form. It has attractive olive green deciduous foliage which emerges brick red in spring. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn outstanding shades of yellow, orange and dark red in the fall. The rough gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.
Landscape Attributes
Aratama Japanese Maple is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, 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.
Aratama Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Aratama Japanese Maple will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.
This shrub 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. 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.
Aratama Japanese Maple makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
Characteristics
Applications
Ornamental Features