Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Sumi Nagashi

Description:

An excellent small landscape tree with graceful burgundy leaves throughout the summer, brilliant fall color; Japanese maples are the most coveted of all small landscape trees, having almost the perfect shape, habit, and fall colors

Ornamental Features

Suminagashi Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive burgundy deciduous foliage. The small lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding crimson in the fall. It produces red samaras from early to mid fall.

Landscape Attributes

Suminagashi Japanese Maple is a dense deciduous tree with 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.

Suminagashi Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening

Planting & Growing

Suminagashi Japanese Maple will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium 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.