Acer palmatum Pung Kil - Japanese Maple

The Acer palmatum 'Pung Kil' is a beautiful small Japanese Maple with finely cut foliage, whose colour variations bring life to different seasons in the garden. The young spring shoots emerge in shades of red and darken more and more to become a dark red-purple. When autumn arrives, they embrace orange and carmine red, ending the season in beauty. The compact variety is very hardy, has a relatively narrow silhouette and grows in mild sun or partial shade, in cool and slightly acidic soil.

Native to eastern China, Korea, and Japan, the Acer palmatum is the origin of numerous horticultural varieties that compete in beauty. The Japanese Maple now belongs, like all Maples, to the Sapindaceae family (formerly the Aceraceae family).
The Acer palmatum, also called Japanese Maple because of its origin, has been cultivated in Japan for more than 300 years, in gardens or formed into bonsai, inspiring a true cult among the Japanese. In nature, it is a small tree approximately 7 to 8 m (23 to 26ft) high, but can exceed 10 m (33ft), with leaves divided into palmate lobes and living in moist and slightly acidic soil. A favourite species among collectors, there are hundreds of horticultural varieties, proof of the enthusiasm for this plant, not only in Japan.
'Pung Kil' (also known as 'Pung Kill') is one of these cultivars. Selected in South Korea, it was named in honour of Mr. Pung Kil, from the Chollipo arboretum (west coast of South Korea, overlooking the Yellow Sea), and it fascinates with its foliage. Slow-growing, this Japanese Maple reaches a height of only about 2 m (7ft) in ten years of planting, with a width of 1.20 m (4ft). It then adopts a narrow, more or less conical and regular habit. Eventually, it can reach a height of 3 m (10ft) and tends to expand in width to form a beautiful tuft with a span of 2 m (7ft) to 2.50 m (8ft).
In spring, young red leaves emerge, palmately lobed, deeply cut, usually with five narrow and elongated lobes, pointed at the tip and finely toothed. These characteristic leaves of the species are particularly fine here, with remarkable graphic aesthetics. Quickly, their colour darkens, becoming a very dark red-purple throughout the summer. The slightest breeze stirs the vegetation, as the delicate and light leaves are inserted on very flexible and mobile branches. In autumn, the plant shines in orange and carmine red, before the leaves fall, forming a temporary decorative carpet on the ground.

The Japanese Maple 'Pung Kil' will find its place in every garden due to its small size. Inevitably attracting interest with its particularly architectural foliage and colours, it can be planted in beds with other plants sharing the same needs, in cool, slightly acidic soil and in filtered sunlight. Combine it with the Parrotia persica Bella, which you will place in the background due to its adult size. To ensure beautiful flowering, plant some Camellias, choosing both spring and autumn/winter flowering varieties (C. sasanqua varieties). Their glossy evergreen dark green leaves will contrast and enhance the colours of your Maple and Parrotia. The Enkianthus campanulatus, a shrub with pink bells in May-June, will also be a good companion, as well as the essential Hydrangeas (Hydrangea) that will animate the summer with their abundant flowering...