Japanese Maple 'Atropurpureum'

I really like the 'atropurpurpeum' just as much as any of the other cultivars we have. 'Bloodgood' and other small named varieties are g...Read Morereat for being able to plant a tree that will surely stay small and fit in a garden space, but this variety is perfect for a shade tree in the long run. They have never disappointed me with their nearly year-round show. I have bloodgoods and other special cultivars of the same age (20+ yrs) that pale in comparison many times to my mother atropurpurpeum. The reason for this is the range of color from spring to fall. I love the gradient of purple/green in the spring almost as much as the crazy bright fall palate. I say palate because the leaves are never one flat color, this branch will be more green sometimes and that one more red/purple or red/orange. A large one covers a portion of our driveway and I appreciate it for several reasons in that placement...
Leaves are small and light when they come off the tree making for easy cleanup, they also make a nice little mulch for themselves if left alone for their very viable offspring (from seed) to come up in. In the spring it has that lovely smell from the blooms as soon as you step out of the car. It is around 28 ft and 25 years old (has never been pruned much), it stretches far enough over the roof on the end of our home to shade a window and that portion of the driveway beautifully. It shouldn't get much larger, so no worries about limbs falling on cars or house. These are not only my favorite trees, but one of my very favorite things to grow, period.

This is by far the most commonly planted of the Japanese Maple types. It is a very common tree in the landscapes of the Mid-Atlantic. Pro...Read Morebably about 1 out of 10 to 20 yards in the Philadelphia region has one planted in the front yard; it is way over-done and too obvious, taking away from the view of the house!. The general public likes it so much, they will find a seedling growing somewhere, plant it, and then wait about 20 years before it is finally an official tree of about 15 feet high. Slow growing (about 3/4 foot/year) and expensive to buy. When the weather turns hot, this variety loses some of its constantly reddish foliage color to become reddish-green, then it turns really bright red in the autumn. The 'Bloodgood' cultivar holds the color better in summer.

When we moved to this Petersburg, Virginia, Zone 7-A house and yard in 1996, there were two mature acer palmatum atropurpureums on either...Read More side of the house in the front yard. They were graceful and colorful, the bright red of early spring darkening and then becoming more of a purplish bronze in the heat of deep summer. One of them died in 2005; an extension agent (who was given soil and plant samples) said that it was probably because it was nearing the end of its lifespan of about sixty to seventy years. The surviving tree must be twenty-five feet tall, and although it looks healthy, I don't know how much longer it has to live. The two maples have put out hundreds (thousands?) of seedlings, apparently something which happens then they near the end. They will come up in flowerbeds, in clay-soil, in mulch, in the lawn. I don't consider this entirely a problem because it won't last forever and because they do make beautiful trees. It is a bit overwhelming, however.

Acer palmatum atropurpureum SDLG. RED JAPAN. MAPLE Dec (z5) (Bonsai)
Similar in size & habit to the species, but with smaller, dee...Read Moreply-lobed leaves which are bright red in spring and fall, & tinged with reddish-bronze throughout the summer. These are seed-grown. Sun-Psh/Med