Japanese Maple, Red Dragon Acer palmatum 'Red Dragon' Height: 6 feet Spread: 6 feet
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Hardiness Zone: 5b Other Names: Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Red Dragon' Group/Class: Dissectum Description: A stunning landscape choice, this fine small accent tree features superb reddish foliage color all season long on a compact, graceful form. Needs afternoon shade and wind protection. Ornamental Features Japanese Maple, Red Dragon is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It features subtle corymbs of red flowers rising above the foliage in mid spring before the leaves. It has attractive burgundy deciduous foliage which emerges cherry red in spring. The deeply cut ferny palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding crimson in the fall. The rough gray bark and red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape. Landscape Attributes Japanese Maple, Red Dragon 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 can be pruned at anytime. It has no significant negative characteristics. Japanese Maple, Red Dragon is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Japanese Maple, Red Dragon will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 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 80 years or more. This tree should be grown in a location with partial shade and which is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. 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. Special Attributes Japanese maples generally produce a few to no seeds called samaras, which are commonly referred to as helicopters 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long, and approximately 1/4 inch wide. Growing in pairs, they start green then mature red during the growing season
