Habit (mature) - Acabashi / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0
Limited coverage
Japanese maple
Acer palmatum
A deciduous small tree or large shrub from Japan and Korea, grown above all for its delicate palmate leaves — five to seven (rarely nine) pointed, toothed lobes — and its sculptural branching. It reaches 10-25 feet over decades, carries insignificant reddish-purple flowers in April, and finishes the season in shades of yellow, red-purple, and bronze. A classic specimen and dappled-shade understory tree; not native to North America.
Climate fit: moderate (44/100)
Focal point
Structure
Light
Full sun / Part sun / Part shade
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
120-300" tall · 180" apart
Hardy in zones
5a-8b
very cold to frosty winters
AHS heat range
1-11
Plant range authored in AHS heat-zone terms.
Native in Illinois
No
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Grown as an ornamental specimen, accent, and bonsai subject (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder); it is not a human food crop.
Cold hardiness
Future
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7a
Plotwright
Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).
Well-suited
In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.
✓
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Future
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 34 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today · 1 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Blue Mountains forests
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Colorado Rockies forests
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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland
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Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). Retrieved 2026, June 14, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/acer-palmatum
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
Plant type
Light
Moisture
Hardiness
Heat zone
Size
Spacing
Habit
Design roles
Seasonal interest
Growth stages
Lifecycle
Regional guidance
Success tips
Designer notes