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Brilliant Red Maple Leaves All Season Long You won’t have to wait until autumn to enjoy red leaves on this tree. Emperor Japanese Maple Acer palmatum ‘Wolff’ EMPEROR 1 makes your landscape sizzle all season long. Beginning in spring the emerging leaves are colored with regal shades of purplish-red and they retain this color throughout summer. In autumn Emperor Japanese Maple’s foliage finishes the growing season with a spectacular color change to scarlet-red! A Graceful Display with even Better Features You’ll want Emperor Japanese Maple for its spectacular foliage but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the other features this red-blushing beauty brings to the table: Grows into a compact size. If you have a small landscape you may not have room to grow a large tree. It will either overwhelm your other plantings or it will throw your landscape design way out of proportion. Emperor Japanese Maple takes a shapely upright form but it typically grows no taller than 15 feet with heights of 10 to 12 feet more commonly seen. Endures late-spring frosts. When deciduous trees produce leaf buds early in spring the buds can be killed by late-spring frosts. Then you have to wait longer for the tree to produce its leaves which can make your yard look sparse in the meantime. Emperor Japanese Maple buds later in spring than other trees so it is spared the damage caused by late-season cold snaps. Tolerates shade. Although you don’t want to plant Emperor Japanese Maple in full shade you’ll find that its leaves retain their red hues even in partial shade or in areas where the tree receives dappled sunshine. East Meets West Japanese maple trees are also native to areas in Southeast Asia other than Japan. These oriental beauties have found hospitable homes in many western climates and soils too. Emperor Japanese Maple is a perennial in USDA plant hardiness Zones 5 through 8 which means it’s a durable tree in cold northern climates as well as hot southern regions. As a quintessential tree for any Asian-themed garden Emperor Japanese Maple provides a focal point that ties your landscape design with a stunning red bow. You can also grow this versatile plant in a large pot as a patio tree! A Super Container Plant If you’ve never thought about growing a tree in a large pot Emperor Japanese Maple is an excellent choice! Growing in a container solves the problem of having to dig a hole in what may be less-than-desirable soil. And if you grow your tree in a pretty pot you can enjoy it on your patio as a single potted specimen or as a focal point that’s grouped with other container plants. Although its mature in-ground height typically is 10 feet Emperor Japanese Maple’s size will be smaller in a large pot so you’ll find it’s more easily manageable. Will it live in a pot year-round Without the surrounding landscape soil to help insulate its roots Emperor Japanese Maple could suffer cold injury. A rule of thumb is that you can successfully grow it in a pot if it’s hardy in two zones colder than where you live. For example because it’s hardy to Zone 5 gardeners in Zone 7 and warmer can grow it in a container that stays outside year-round. And if you live in Zone 6 you can place your potted tree in a spot that is protected from winter winds and wrap the pot with frost blankets or heavy insulating material to protect its roots. If you live in a zone colder than 6 you can move the pot to an unheated garage during winter to protect your plant. What kind of container should I use Terracotta clay and porcelain pots are susceptible to breaking as they repeatedly freeze and thaw outside. Better choices include plastic metal or wooden containers. Whatever pot you choose just make sure it has a hole at the bottom so water can drain freely. Does it need special care in its container You’ll only need to keep it watered and fertilized ‘C you won’t have to weed around it as you’d have to do if it were planted in the ground! And you won’t even have to prune it ‘C Emperor Japanese Maple naturally grows into what horticulturists call a “vase shape.Soil in containers dries out more quickly than in-ground soil even in the winter so you’ll want to check on your potted tree periodically and add water when the top few inches of the soil feels dry. Emperor Japanese Maple likes soil that is a bit on the moist side to perform its best. 3 Irresistible Landscape Design Suggestions You’ll want to find a prominent place to feature your Emperor Japanese Maple instead of planting it where it’s out of sight. This is definitely a showy tree that is worthy of its regal name. With the simple addition of an Emperor Japanese Maple to your landscape you can transform your yard into a curb-appeal sensation! 1. Design an island bed by removing the grass inside the bed and mulching the entire island with finely shredded pine bark ‘C to a depth of 3 inches. Using Emperor Japanese Maple as the anchor plant you can place it in the center of the