Red Dragon Japanese Maple
A stunning landscape choice, this fine small accent tree features superb reddish foliage color all season long on a compact, graceful form; a highly desirable specimen for the garden or against the foundation of the house
Attracts,
Brand,
Brand,
Botanical Name,
Bulb Size,
Bulbs per Package,
Deer Resistant,
Evergreen or Deciduous,
Family,Maple
Family Name,
Bloom Time,Mid Spring
Foliage Color,Red
Genus,Acer
Genus Name,
Weather,
Days to Emerge,
Days to Maturity,
Edible,
Features,
Growth Rate,Slow
Hardiness,
Hardiness Zone,5b
Harvest Season,
Landscape Uses,Accent, Massing, Screening, Garden, Container
Light Needs,Full Sun, Partial Shade
Mature Height,10 feet
Mature Width,12 feet
Prune Time,Prune In Full Leaf
Self Pollinating,
Water Needs,Average to Moist
Waterwise,
Essentials for Success
For flourishing plants, use potting soil for potted plants or planting mix for garden beds paired with Root Zone starter fertilizer is the perfect duo to foster robust root growth and minimize transplant shock.
Details
Red Dragon Japanese Maple is an open deciduous tree with a strong central leader and a more or less rounded form. 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.
Red Dragon Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications:
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- Hedges/Screening
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Features
Red Dragon Japanese Maple has attractive burgundy foliage which emerges cherry red in spring. The deeply cut ferny palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding crimson in the fall. It features subtle corymbs of red flowers rising above the foliage in mid spring before the leaves. It produces red samaras from early to mid fall. The rough gray bark and red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.
Care
Planting & Growing
Red Dragon Japanese Maple will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 3 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 80 years or more.
This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. 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.
Red Dragon Japanese Maple is a fine choice for the yard, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
