Here is your friendly plant post; where I talk about a plant I love and hopefully convince you to plant it or just be more knowledgeable about it.
Plant: Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum
Japanese Maple as a common cultivar, Bloodgood
Why: Well, first of all, I think it's time for another tree in the Foliage Friday mix. I do love trees (see: blog title). Then, I honestly couldn't decide on a plant to do, so I asked my mom. After a little while, she suggested the Japanese Maple. I am just proud that she knows what one is to ask to learn more about it! Maples are seriously one of my favorite genera of trees, I have no clue why. They are so common and over planted, but for some reason I love them.Landscape info: There are MANY different cultivars of Japanese Maples, so there are many different landscape uses for them. Some get a little taller (15-25 feet) to be used as a tree, while others remain small and can be used as a shrub in landscaping. Naturally, this tree is found as an understory tree, as it can survive with dappled canopy shade. It's leaves are unique because of how deep the lobes go (see below picture. ) Depending on the cultivar, leaves can be green, yellow, red, orange in summer, and can change again in fall! It needs constant and steady water, as it does not do well in overly dry locations. There are no reported major pest problems.
Close up of leaf shape - 5-9 lobed palmate leaves
Fun facts: The Japanese Maple is native to Japan, North Korea, South Korea, China, Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Since it was discovered, it has adapted to survive in just about every climate.
There are probably over 100 cultivars that have different shapes, sizes, and growth habits!
Japanese Maple as a bonsai tree
Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Some information and pictures from: www.hort.uconn.edu and Yahoo images
1 comment:
I like the deep purple color!
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