Acer palmatum 'Aratama' - Aratama Japanese Maple

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

Height: 4 feet. Spread: 4 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 6a.

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

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.

Recommended for: Mass Planting, Rock/Alpine Gardens, General Garden Use, Container Planting.

Planting and 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.

Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder.