Aciers

Acers and Japanese maples for sale

Acer palmatum and other small maples, grown for the shape and colour of their leaves. Most stay small enough for a pot or a corner of the garden.

Japanese maples grow slowly, and the majority never get too big for a large container, a courtyard or the front of a border. So the choice mostly comes down to leaf shape and colour, and to how much of a show you want in autumn.

Which acer?

For red-purple leaves all summer, 'Bloodgood' and 'Atropurpureum' are reliable. 'Osakazuki' is green in summer and turns bright scarlet in autumn, and it's one of the best for autumn colour. If you want the fine, lacy leaves that most people picture when they think of a Japanese maple, look at the dissectum types. 'Dissectum Viridis' is fresh green, while 'Garnet' and 'Inaba-shidare' are deep red, and all three grow into low, spreading mounds.

'Sangokaku', the coral bark maple, has coral-red stems that give you colour after the leaves have dropped. 'Orange Dream' has yellow-green leaves tinged orange, 'Summer Gold' stays golden, and 'Shaina' is a compact, bushy red that suits a pot. Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' and 'Moonrise' have rounded, fan-shaped leaves in lime and gold. Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' has deeply cut leaves that go ruby red in autumn, and Acer griseum, the paperbark maple, is grown as much for its peeling, cinnamon-coloured bark as for its leaves.

Growing Japanese maples

Acers like shelter from strong wind and protection from hot afternoon sun, which can scorch the leaves. Dappled shade suits them best. They prefer moist, free-draining soil that's neutral to slightly acid. In a pot, use a loam-based compost, keep it watered through the summer and feed lightly in spring. They need very little pruning. Just take out any dead or crossing branches in late autumn or winter, while the tree is dormant.

Delivery

Every plant comes with free plant food. Acers lose their leaves in winter, so a tree delivered between November and March will arrive as bare branches. That's normal, and it'll leaf up in spring. If you'd like help choosing, get in touch.