Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food and Recipes
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Style
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • Home
  • Gardening Ideas
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      Here are the haircuts you'll be seeing everywhere this year. Read More
    • How To Season a Cast-Iron Skillet

      How To Season a Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple. Read More
    • 50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      Not sure what to write in a thank you card? Here's how to show your gratitude with a handwritten note. Read More
  • Food and Recipes

    Food and Recipes

    See All Food and Recipes
    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    It’s not all in the senses, but they sure can help.
    • Recipes
    • Quick and Easy Dinner
    • Kitchen Assistant
    • Casserole
    • Holiday and Occasion Food
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Healthy and Light
    • Side Dishes
    • Party Food and Drink
    • Appetizers
    • Meat
    • Breakfast
    • BBQ
    • Drinks
    • What's Cooking
  • Culture and Lifestyle

    Culture and Lifestyle

    See All Culture and Lifestyle
    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    Let your besties know how much they mean to you with one of these unique nicknames.
    • Quotes and Sayings
    • Biscuits and Jam Podcast
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Healthy Living
    • Coastal Living
  • Style

    Style

    See All Style
    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The beginning of a new year often has us all feeling like starting off fresh by taking on better habits, getting rid of old ones, and—most commonly—changing up our look. While others are hitting the squats and going into the salon for a pixie cut, why not start slow and steady with a cozy winter manicure in a color that feels new to you? It takes only a little courage to step outside your usual OPI Lincoln Park After Dark or Essie Bordeaux, which is all you need to kick 2022 off on a fanciful foot.  From new wintry takes on classic dark nail colors to unique pops of color that'll have you feeling the opposite of boring, these are the best nail colors to try this January and tick off all the way into spring. 
    • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Fashion
    • Short Hairstyles
    • Nails
    • Medium Hairstyles
    • Skincare
    • Long Hairstyles
  • Holidays & Occasions

    Holidays & Occasions

    See All Holidays & Occasions
    • Thanksgiving
    • Gifts
    • Christmas
    • Mother's Day
    • Hanukkah
    • New Year's
    • Easter
    • Mardi Gras
    • 4th of July
    • Weddings
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    There's no denying how the pandemic fundamentally changed the world—including how we live (and work) inside our homes. An overall trend toward celebrating the history and originality of our homes is displacing ultramodern aesthetics and sharp lines as we all look to create cozier, colorful, more personalized spaces that better suit our lifestyles. We're turning away from big-box stores and toward vintage items—first, out of necessity due to supply-chain issues, and now, for design reasons—to add charm and character to every room in the house, including the kitchen. Here, interior designers from around the South share their predictions for what's trending in kitchen design for 2022 and beyond.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Kitchen Design
    • Before & After Photos
    • Bathroom Design
    • Curb Appeal
    • Bedroom Design
    • DIY Home Decor
    • Color Palettes & Paint
    • House Plans & Builders
    • Inspired Communities
  • Gardening Ideas

    Gardening Ideas

    See All Gardening Ideas
    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    Plus a few strategies for keeping them out-of-doors
    • Container Gardening
    • Gardening Flowers
    • Fruit, Vegetable & Herb Gardens
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Guides A-Z
    • Indoor Plants
    • Fall Plants
    • Landscaping Ideas
    • The Grumpy Gardener
  • News

    News

    See All News
    • Celebrities
    • Local News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Gardening Ideas
  3. Top 6 Japanese Maple Varieties

Top 6 Japanese Maple Varieties

By Gene B Bussell
Skip gallery slides
FB
Shaina
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson
Expert grower William B. Shell shares his favorites, whether you're looking for continuous color or sculptural foliage.
Start Slideshow

1 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Atrolineare

Atrolineare
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Small, upright form; black-red, straplike leaves.

A timeless classic, this ribbon-leaf Japanese Maple Variety is native to eastern Asia and features red, hand-shaped leaves divided into spindly, finger-like lobes. The graceful tree has gray bark and is beautiful throughout the year. This Japanese maple tree grows best in moist, well-drained soil with acidic or neutral pH and when exposed to partial shade. Luckily for Southerners, this deciduous maple is humidity tolerant. Atrolineare maples require average water fall, and produce different colors depending on the season. In the spring and summer, expect leaves to be purple, burgundy, dark red, and bronze. In the fall, purple fades to bronze and deeper shades of red.

1 of 7

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Beni shichihenge

Beni shichihenge
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Medium, upright form; beautiful variegated leaves in white, pink, and green.

Difficult to pronounce but easy to grow, the Beni Shichihenge variety of Japanese maples have spectacular foliage color from the early Spring to late autumn. The name “Beni Shichihenge” means “red and changeful.” When Beni Shichihenge leaves bloom in the early spring, they develop deep, pink-red edges on their light, creamy green leaves; they are known for having the most intense pink spring color of any maple variety, and the most long-lasting, too. In the autumn, they turn a vibrant shade of red orange. These trees are easy to grow in an urban setting, too – they can keep for over ten years in a large pot.

2 of 7

3 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Inaba shidare

Inaba shidare
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Medium, cascading form; deep red-purple leaves.

These low-maintenance maples are easily grown in moist, organically-rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soils. They prefer partial shade and thrive when watered regularly, as their foliage easily scorches in hot, dry areas exposed to full sunlight. This Japanese maple is low branching; during the spring, expect a few reddish purple flowers to bloom. Even when it reaches its full height (around 15 feet tall and 20 feet wide), this slow-growing, round tree remains small and is best grow as an accent under larger trees. Fall colors are where this tree sets itself apart – Inaba Shidare leaves tend to be a brighter shade of red than other selections.

3 of 7

Advertisement

4 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Waterfall

Waterfall
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Small to medium, cascading form; lacy green leaves, bright gold fall color.

Waterfall Japanese maple trees are in the “laceleaf weeping” family of Japanese maple. In the spring, the leaves of this low-maintenance shrub turn a very vivid shade of bright green, and require regular waterings, along with, organically rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soil in full to partial shade. Waterfall Japanese maples slowly grow up to 6 feet tall over the first 10 years, and then mature over time to reach as high as 10 feet tall. The lace-like leaves of Waterfall maples turn gold in the fall, with vivid streaks of orange and red.

4 of 7

5 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Murasaki kiyohime

Murasaki kiyohime
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Dwarf, rounded form; yellow-green leaves with red edges in spring, turning green in summer and gold in fall.

Murasaki Kiyohime Japanese Maples are most known for their prismatic leaves, which display bright green centers surrounded by deep red margins in the spring. By the late summer, the bright green deepens to dark green and the red deepens to purple. This type of Japanese Maple is small and will grow much wider than tall, and is perfectly suited for containers and bonsai displays. Fall colors range from bronze to orange. As Murasaki Kiyohime grows (which is quickly, compared to slower-growing Japanese Maples), it begins to thicken and grow wider, and falls less upright. Like other types of Japanese maples, Murasaki Kiyohimes grow best in dappled light, well-drained soil, and under regular watering conditions.

5 of 7

6 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Shaina

Shaina
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Small, rounded form; bright red leaves in spring and fall and deep red leaves in summer.

Small, rounded form; bright leaves in spring and fall and deep red leaves in summer

Shaina Japanese maples are a new variety; this type of Japanese maple tree was invented in the United States in 1960. These dwarf Japanese maples are dense, and compact shrubs. Shaina grows into a globe-shaped tree that typically does not reach more than five feet tall. The leaves first emerge in the spring as bright, vibrant red; they fade to a deep, purplish-red in the summer, and then turn a bright crimson-orange in the fall. Like other types of Japanese maples, Shainas grow best in dappled light, well-drained soil, and under regular watering conditions. These round maples are great for container gardening or as a colorful garden accent.

6 of 7

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 7

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Sources

Sources
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson

Japanese Maple Handbook Japanese Maples: The Complete Guide to Selection and Cultivation by J.D. Vertrees & Peter Gregory (amazon.com)

Published in 1978, Japanese Maples is the most comprehensive collection of information regarding the many varieties of Japanese Maples out there. There are over 150,000 copies in print, and it has been printed in three editions. Currently, Japanese Maples is in its fourth edition, and over the years, the authors have added over 150 new pieces of information, updates, and insights into cultural favorites. This handbook teaches gardeners how to identify maples through color photographs. If you’re interested in growing your own Japanese maples, this book will help make planting Japanese maples easy.

7 of 7

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Gene B Bussell

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 7 Atrolineare
    2 of 7 Beni shichihenge
    3 of 7 Inaba shidare
    4 of 7 Waterfall
    5 of 7 Murasaki kiyohime
    6 of 7 Shaina
    7 of 7 Sources

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print
    Southern Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Southern Living
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    MeredithSouthern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Southern Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    Top 6 Japanese Maple Varieties
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.