Acer palmatum 'Hime Shojo' - Hime Shojo Dwarf Japanese Maple

This variety produces small, deeply divided leaves that emerge bright cherry-red in spring, maturing to dark maroon for most of the summer; bright red fall color; an excellent choice for container or garden use

Height: 6 feet. Spread: 6 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 5a.

Ornamental features

Hime Shojo Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its broadly spreading habit of growth. It has attractive red-variegated burgundy foliage which emerges cherry red in spring. The small lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding red in the fall.

Landscape

Hime Shojo Japanese Maple is a deciduous tree with a strong central leader and a ground-hugging habit of growth. 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 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: Mass Planting, General Garden Use, Container Planting.

Planting and growing

Hime Shojo Japanese Maple will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot 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 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.