Acer japonicum 'Mai kujaku' - Dancing Peacock Japanese Maple

This is a stunning small accent tree for the home landscape; keep moist as leaves tend to scorch; large deeply-cut leaves turn brilliant yellow to orange/red in the fall; attracts nesting birds; water frequently if grown in full sun

Height: 20 feet. Spread: 20 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 5a.

Ornamental features

Maiku Jaku Fernleaf Full Moon Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive green deciduous foliage. The large deeply cut lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn outstanding shades of yellow, orange and red in the fall.

Landscape

Maiku Jaku Fernleaf Full Moon Maple is an open multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This tree will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, 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.

Recommended for: Accent, Mass Planting, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use.

Planting and growing

Maiku Jaku Fernleaf Full Moon Maple will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 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 60 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. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, 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.

Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder.