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Japanese maple
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.
Review: Source-backed
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
Summer heat range
Cool-Hot
cool to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.
Native in Illinois
No
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Cold hardiness
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7b
Plotwright
Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)
Well-suited
In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…
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 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/japanese-maple
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited18 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
Wikimedia Commons
Photo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Backs 1 field
Image
Community photos
The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.
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