TREE TALK | A gift from old Nippon: The Japanese maple

No tree heralds the advent of autumn like a Japanese maple. Already, many of them have ignited in a blaze of colors, ranging from reds, oranges, yellows and even flaming burgundy.

Mentioned in Japanese poetry as early as 614 A.D., the frenzy of selection and cultivation of various forms reached its pinnacle in the Edo period, starting in 1603 and ending in the Meiji Restoration of 1868. You’ll see these elegant trees in woodcuts of the period, so serene in their beauty that it is little wonder maple-viewing parties were (and are) common in Japan.

Madison Park boasts a number of these noble trees in a wide assortment of cultivated varieties. Stroll the neighborhood, and once you spot one, you become aware of dozens all around you.

And if you really want to be wowed by their magic and see just how glorious they can be in a traditional setting, go to the Washington Park Arboretum’s Japanese Garden. You’ll experience the haunting music of the koto and the quiet elegance of the tea ceremony come to life in a plant.

Four-season trees

Delicately scaled trees, they rarely grow taller then 20 feet. They have a strong, open and picturesque branching pattern, making them perfect focal points for city gardens. Their leaves are, for the most part, like those of other typical maples but smaller in size, sometimes more finely cut.
Japanese maples are four-season trees. In spring, they unfurl their new leaves like a wispy cloud of pastels, most often pale lime-green, a few in dark red.

Come summer, the trees are covered in leaves, most often in shades of green, sometimes burgundy red.

Fall brings the spectacular color show that you’ll witness this month and into next.

Then the plants defoliate, leaving a strong sculptural form crowned with a filigree of tiny end branches that catch water droplets, illuminated with scraps of sunlight — sparkling jewels in the winter garden.

You’ll love looking at a Japanese maple all year-round.

Fall planting

If you have a place for a small tree, look around, study the possibilities (there are more than 300 choices commonly in cultivation), shop nurseries, then get the maple in the ground this month or next.

Timber Press publishes its “Pocket Guide to Japanese Maples,” by Peter Gregory and J.D. Vertrees, and also its parent book “Japanese Maples,” by Vertrees with Gregory. Both are excellent, the one drawback being that if you open either of these books, you’ll not find one Japanese maple you long for — you’ll find a dozen or more.

Planted in good soil in a spot that gets strong morning light or filtered afternoon light, Japanese maples are relatively undemanding. They’ll need some summer watering if the season is unusually dry, but once established, they can withstand all but our toughest Pacific Northwest summer droughts.
As the plant grows up, it is wise to see that the root zone from trunk to drip line is protected. Disturbing the roots of an established plant can be fatal. Large rocks, ferns or a carpet of ground covers makes for good protection.

Plant a Japanese Maple this fall and you’ll likely spend the rest of your life looking at it and saying, “Arigato gozaimasu” in loving gratitude for the nonstop beauty it brings you.


STEVE LORTON, a Madison Park resident, is former Northwest Bureau chief for Sunset Magazine. To comment on this column, write to MPTimes@nwlink.com.