Plant Library

Description:

This natural dwarf has delicate deeply lobed leaves emerging red which may fade a little over summer to burgundy green; upright growth habit, almost columnar; a sport of Bloodgood maple, ideal for general garden use

Ornamental Features

Skeeter's Broom Dwarf Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive burgundy deciduous foliage which emerges red in spring. The small deeply cut lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn outstanding shades of scarlet and orange in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Skeeter's Broom Dwarf Japanese Maple is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Skeeter's Broom Dwarf Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Skeeter's Broom Dwarf Japanese Maple will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Skeeter's Broom Dwarf Japanese Maple makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.