Are you looking to add some red weeping Japanese maples to your garden?
Red Japanese weeping maples are popular for their aesthetic appeal. Their vibrant red foliage provides a striking visual element to any landscape.
4 Red Weeping Japanese Maple varieties include:
- Acer Palmatum ‘Bloodgood’
- Acer Palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’
- Acer Palmatum ‘Inaba Shidare’
- Acer Palmatum ‘Garnet’
Recently, I wrote some fun facts about the Japanese weeping maples. This time, I wanted to explore weeping Japanese maples that are red in color. I have a great interest in the red varieties because they’re such a symbol of Japanese tradition and it adds such beautiful colors to any garden.
So here we go, here are four of my favorite red weeping Japanese maples.
1. Acer Palmatum ‘Bloodgood’
The Acer Palmatum Bloodgood is one of the most classic weeping Japanese maples that gives the traditional dark red color
This weeping maple tree is a moderate grower that starts with the maroon in spring and eventually fades its color during the mid-summer. The foliage then changes to a beautiful fire-engine red that is classic to any Japanese-themed landscape.
Arguably one of the most common uses in private and public landscapes, its versatility allows it to have many uses. It can be placed as a focal point specimen, beside water features, or as part of an Asian-inspired garden.
The Acer Palmatum Bloodgood is low maintenance as it requires little pruning. In fact, it’s better to leave them growing to that natural umbrella formation.
If you have a monotone garden of greens, consider getting the Acer Palmatum Bloodgood to add color variety and diversity.
2. Acer Palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’
The Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’ is a classic Japanese weeping maple with dark maroon foliage.
This weeping maple species can hold its dark red color throughout Spring and Summer, going through bright pinkish reds in the Fall.
The leaves have a beautiful lateral branching habit that creates a cascading umbrella shape. It often grows wider than it does tall.
The Crimson Queen is a great choice as a red weeping maple for a shaded area where it gets protection from the hot afternoon sun.
Some practical use of the Crimson Queen is placing it under the window sills without blocking incoming sunlight into the home. It can also be placed near the entranceway to your home to create a beautiful first impression for guests.
Consideration of space should be given when planting the Crimson Queen. It likes to spread its branches wide, so you need to allow space for it to do so.
This weeping Japanese maple is popular to grow in container gardens and in patio planters because it holds its color well in shade.
Its sub-lobes aren’t deeply divided which means that it gives the plant a very soft feel on the older growth of Crimson Queen.
3. Acer Palmatum ‘Inaba Shidare’
The Acer Palmatum ‘Inaba Shidare’ is a sturdy and upright growing red weeping Japanese maple that does not bronze out in the late season, unlike other members of its maple family.
It produces deep maroon foliage with a tint of purple. New growth flushes even brighter red in early Spring and fades to a darker red in the mid-Summer. It can get a little green right before the fall color.
Between 10 and 15 years, this tree will get between four to five feet tall and about five to six feet wide. It grows a graceful umbrella habit with an extreme weeping formation.
The Inaba Shidar is an excellent tree for a small garden area, especially as a low weeping Japanese maple tree. It suits well as a container garden and somewhere on the patio.
Or even outside in the open, the Inaba Shidare is great for full sun up to zone 8. It’s a very heat-tolerant tree as long as it’s not crowded by other plants nearby.
The Inaba Shidar serves as an excellent focal point, delivering that dramatic red contrast against a green landscape.
4. Acer Palmatum ‘Garnet’
The Acer Palmatum ‘Garnet’ is a red dwarf maple tree that only grows up to nine feet (274cm) tall. It grows a low and graceful weeping umbrella shape in reddish-purple colors.
Its lacy foliage has deeply divided lace leaves, adding a pretty ornamental appeal to the landscape.
This weeping maple is a very heat-tolerant variety that grows well in full sun, up to zone 8, offering a durable tree for the landscape.
As the Garnet doesn’t grow all that large, it’s a good option to grow in containers on the front porch or across the garden. Ensure that you have good drainage in your containers.
This red weeping maple tree requires little maintenance and pruning. If pruning is required, it’s best to do so during the dormant season.
Sources
Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’
Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’
Acer palmatum ‘Garnet’
Image Credit
Bloodgood by vodolej
Crimson Queen by Vahe Martirosyan
Inaba Shidare by nahhan
Garnet by Andrey Zharkikh
