Acer palmatum 'Karasu gawa' - Pink Variegated Japanese Maple

Beautiful foliage starts out rich pink and fades to a dazzling variety of colors in shades of cream, green and tinges of red on different leaves, with pink dominating in fall, an incredible sight all year round in the garden, worth every penny

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

Ornamental features

Karasu Gawa Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive creamy white-variegated green foliage with hints of red which emerges hot pink in spring. The small lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn outstanding shades of rose and red in the fall.

Landscape

Karasu Gawa Japanese Maple is a dense deciduous tree with a strong central leader and a more or less rounded form. 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

Karasu Gawa Japanese Maple will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 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 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.