Japanese maple: one of the most versatile plants for use in the garden

STEVEN BOEKEL NISHIKI NURSERY

Nishiki Nursery, founded in 2011, sits nestled in the rolling hills of Monbulk, a quiet town within the beautiful Dandenong ranges, Victoria.

At Nishiki Nursery, we specialise in growing high quality grafted Japanese maples, with over 80 varieties of maples available all year round. We also offer an extensive range of high-quality trees, shrubs and bonsai, perfect for landscapers and the retail trade.

Japanese maples (also known as Acer palmatum cultivars) are one of the most versatile plants for use in the garden. The plants are divided into three main groups; upright growing forms, which are perfect for medium to large gardens, weeping forms (known as dissectum varieties), which are suited to all garden aspects, including courtyards and patios. Finally dwarf palmatum varieties, which are suited to small gardens, ornate pots and bonsai.

Japanese maples can tolerate a wide range of positions in the garden, as well as different soil types. The spring foliage emerges soft and delicate, which tends to give them the appearance of being difficult to grow or needing more care than other plants, which is not the case.

The key point for growing a Japanese maple well is a position that provides protection from strong winds and, if possible, morning sun is best - so ideally a south facing aspect will ensure the best results! In our experience of growing and propagating Japanese maples for over 15 years, they perform best when planted with a few handfuls of dolomite lime, the same amount of dynamic lifter pellets or similar and plenty of mushroom compost. They are shallow rooted plants so plenty of mulch works best.

Over time, some twigs and branches can fizzle out due to a lack of light and dense branching of the canopy - simply prune these off in winter each year. Winter is also the best time to prune your maples to whichever shape you desire, although I have found that pruning in summer also yields good results, so best not to overthink it.

As for pest and diseases, they are quite resilient, with aphids in spring being the main issue and in most cases the plant will grow through these without an issue. If it’s a particularly bad season, you may want to spray with an aphicide or insecticide to protect the plant.

In my opinion, the most popular and best performing upright varieties would be Senkaki (also known as Sango kaku); with bright red stems throughout winter, Bloodgood with bright red to dark purple foliage from spring to summer and an improved form called Emperor 1 with very dark red foliage, that holds well even in a hot summer. These uprights grow roughly 5 metres tall in the first ten years.

The best and most consistent dissectum variety is Inaba Shidare, a strong growing, mushroom shaped habit and red to dark purple foliage is a constant winner in the garden, reaching approximately 2 metres tall by 2 metres wide in 10 years.