Acer palmatum Uki-gumo - Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum 'Uki-gumo' is one of the most unique varieties of Acer palmatum with variegated foliage. With a beautiful upright habit, this small tree displays magnificent tricoloured spring foliage, speckled with green on a cream-white to pink background, carried by young pink stems. It turns solid green by the end of summer, before taking on shades of golden-yellow and orange in autumn. Not very large, it makes a choice specimen to be highlighted in a small garden or in a large pot on a terrace. It dislikes scorching sun and drought, and always prefers to be planted in partial shade in moist, well-drained, non-calcareous, but rather fertile soil.

Native to eastern China, Korea, and Japan, Acer palmatum is the origin of a multitude of horticultural varieties that compete in beauty. Like all maples, it belongs to the Sapindaceae family (formerly Aceraceae). The cultivar 'Uki-gumo' is remarkable for its narrow habit and heavily speckled foliage in spring. It is a small, slow-growing, upright, hardy tree, developing a slender trunk with a light, narrow, and slightly spreading canopy. Ultimately, it will reach a height of 3.5m (12ft) with an approximate width of 1.5m (5ft) in the ground, depending on growing conditions. Its growth will be more moderate in a pot. Its deciduous foliage is composed of palmate leaves, deeply divided into 7 to 9 narrow and long lobes, finely serrated at the edges. The leaves change colour throughout the seasons: initially pink at bud break, they unfold to reveal pink and white splashes on a green background, turn green in summer, then transition to yellow-orange in autumn before falling. The insignificant flower clusters in April are followed by fruits with red curved wings in late summer, which adorn the garden until autumn.

'Uki-gumo' is best placed as a solitary specimen on a shaded lawn, or in acidic soil beds alongside azaleas, pieris, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, and azaleas. It can also make a magnificent bonsai to be cultivated in a flat dish. In a shaded bed, plant early-flowering bulbs, hellebores, hostas, and epimediums at its base. Despite its delicate appearance, this small tree is rather robust, requiring only occasional watering during dry periods, and light, well-drained, preferably acidic to neutral, not too poor soil.