Every garden deserves the beauty of a Full Moon Maple, but not all gardeners are lucky enough to have the space or live within the hardiness range of this fine tree. 'Aconitifolium' resolves these problems, however, by offering a dwarf habit (just 8 to 10 feet tall and wide at maturity) that fits neatly into today's smaller landscapes OR is compact enough for a large container, so that the tree can be moved to a warm area for winter north of its hardiness range. With richly colored autumn foliage, 'Aconitifolium' is a spectacular little tree.Before the foliage unfurls in spring, tiny reddish-violet blooms appear all over this well-branched small tree. Acer blooms are never magnificent by any stretch of the imagination, but these are a bit showier than most, visible on the bare branches. They are soon joined by fern-like, deeply cut foliage of bright green, which remains through spring and summer.
But the real show begins in autumn, when the leaves turn intense shades of crimson, red, and orange. 'Aconitifolium' has one of the most spectacular autumn displays in the Japanese Maple family, radiating warm tones for many weeks. Be sure to site this tree where you can enjoy its incredible display every day.
This dwarf Full Moon Maple may be staked to achieve an upright form, or allowed to grow naturally, which will create a cascading effect of foliage that is most impressive. It fares best in full sun in the northern part of its hardiness range, afternoon shade farther south, and in all climates needs protection from strong wind. Hardy to -10 degrees F, it is not happy in areas where summers are quite hot for a long period. Give it well-drained garden soil of any type, and it will flourish, growing at the rate of about 1 to 2 feet a year until reaching its mature size. Zones 5-7.
