Acer palmatum 'Twombly's Red Sentinel' - Twombly's Red Sentinel Japanese Maple

True to its name, this variety maintains a somewhat columnar form, with burgundy to red foliage all season long, ending in a fiery display in fall; the dense and narrow upright form makes it wonderfully useful for many garden applications

Height: 10 feet. Spread: 7 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 5b.

Ornamental features

Twombly's Red Sentinel Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive burgundy deciduous foliage which emerges red in spring. The small lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding crimson in the fall.

Landscape

Twombly's Red Sentinel Japanese Maple is a dense deciduous tree with a strong central leader and a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. 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, Vertical Accent, Mass Planting, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use, Container Planting.

Planting and growing

Twombly's Red Sentinel Japanese Maple will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 7 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. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. 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.