Acer palmatum 'Dragon Tears' - Dragon Tears Japanese Maple

A stunning selection with strong horizontal branching and unique pendulous branch tips; foliage emerges crimson, matures to burgundy red, then turns rusty red in fall; a graceful looking, slow growing accent for home landscapes

Height: 10 feet. Spread: 8 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 5a.

Ornamental features

Dragon Tears™ Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental upright and spreading habit of growth. It has attractive burgundy deciduous foliage which emerges crimson in spring. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding brick red in the fall. It produces red samaras from early to mid fall. The rough gray bark and red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape

Dragon Tears™ Japanese Maple is an open deciduous tree with a strong central leader and an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, 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, Container Planting.

Planting and growing

Dragon Tears™ Japanese Maple will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, 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 80 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. This plant will benefit from an application of bonemeal and/or mycorrhizal fertilizer at the time of planting. 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.