California Gardening: Your favorite japanese maples for California?, 1 by doss

doss wrote:
Here's the news on planting Japanese maples in the sun. Some of them are better than others, but almost all of them can take more sun than we think. The trick is to gradually get them used to it before planting. You can very often ask nurserys to do this for you. They generally have been growing in pretty shady conditions. I have a quite a number growing in full sun. Definitely an Acer Palmatum can take it. I have a Sangu Kaku (coral bark) that is against a west-facing wall. I have a red lace-leaf in full sun too. On the otherhand I've had good luck growing them in more shade than you'd think. My Bloodgood doesn't get any and it still turns bright red. There are other cultivars that stay redder in the summer though.

I have just learned recently that the stated sizes on Japanese Maples are mostly too small. The reason is that they weren't too popular before the 1970's but now experience is that they grow quite large in California. I saw an Acer Palmatum that was at least 35 feet tall recently. My 'Butterfly' (which I love, but needs more sun than I have it in. It isn't as pink as it might be) grew to 14 feet and had to be pruned drastically to stay in it's place. Evidently they can get to 25 feet.

I don't know what this tree is but I love it. I have to prune it pretty drastically to keep it in it's place (It's supposed to be a 6-10 foot tree like the butterfly). It has palmate leaves and it's really beautiful in the fall. It's one drawback is that it holds onto it's leaves and you have to pull them off.