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Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Crimson Queen’
By Michael J. McGroarty, Perry, Ohio Copyright 2011
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‘Crimson Queen’ is by far one of the most popular of the family of Japanese Maples. Lace-leaf and weeping with deep red color that holds well throughout the summer even in conditions of extreme heat, ’Crimson Queen’ is a great addition to any landscape. This beautiful dwarf tree does well in zones 5 through 8. Although partial shade is often recommend for this tree, mine are in full sun and do quite well.
Spring color is very, very red and as the summer goes on the color deepens to more of a scarlet red. The fall color, right before leaf drop is striking red. The photo to the left was taken in August after weeks of extreme heat and the tree still has good red color.
New growth comes out with a beautiful red color so early in the spring the tree is very eye catching with it’s vivid red color.
Regular pruning of ‘Crimson Queen’ Japanese Maple is essential in order to maintain the desired shape. Some people think all things should be allow to grow naturally and I’ve seen tree that have been allow to take that path. They look much more desirable when pruned on a regular basis.
As you can see in this photo the new growth has a brilliant red color, but at some point before the next growing season that new growth needs to be removed. If it is not removed next spring when the tree leafs out additional new growth will appear on these two branches which already seem out of place. If pruned off before that happens all of the new growth next spring will cover the tree uniformly and tree will maintain it’s desired shape.
This is pretty typical for most of the dissectum Japanese Maple varieties nearing the end of summer. It’s pretty common for the edges of the leaves to become dry and a tad crispy. By no means does this take away from the plant. Dissectum leaves are finely cut and very delicate and between the wind and the hot summer sun it’s like holding a blow dryer to the leaves. This is where some partial shading comes in handy, but it’s not really necessary. You have to look closely to see this condition and since this is a deciduous plant it’s just a temporary condition that does not affect the plant in a negative way at all.
Crimson Queen displaying it’s beautiful red color in the spring.
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My crimson queen japanese lace leaf maple is 4 yrs old. Now this spring I am noticing 20% of branches with no buds, branches that are dry (breakable). What is happening? Thank you
Michael, I’ve had the same thing happen to me twice. At first it seemed disasterous but I just removed the dead branch, leaving a large hole in the tree, and in not time that opening filled right in. More details here: http://japanesemaplelovers.com/japanese-maple-diseases/
Beautiful tree! I enjoyed your video on youtube. I just planted two Crimson Queens and I am wanting upright growth like the one pictured. I noticed in your video you only staked the main runner? of the tree. On another web site it was suggested that all limbs pliable enough be tied upward which is what I did. I’m wondering what effect this will have? Also, how many inches of growth per year can I expect in zone 5 (Kansas City)? Is there anything I can do to speed the growth? Right now the trees are about 3 feet tall and I just planted them today so I can untie the smaller limbs if this was a mistake.
Kathy,
What you did is fine, you’ll end up with a nice tree. You can expect between 6″ and 9″ of new growth each year. They are slow growing, but they fill in at the same time. Before you know it you’ll have a nice tree. Speed up the growth? That’s a dangerous question to answer. Japanese maples grow at their own pace. Trying to speed them up with fertilizer will do them a great deal of harm if not kill them. The best way to get the most growth possible is to make sure they are planted in loose soil that drains well and is rich in organic matter.
If your tree is planted in heavy clay soil it is not going to be happy and will grow very slowly.
Thanks for any advise you may offer!