Red Emperor Maple

Planted by Jade and Paul Taylor

The red emperor maple is a beautiful tree with rich crimson leaves. Associated with peace and serenity of the world’s elements, Japanese maple trees represent balance and practicality and are called “kito” in the Japanese language, which means “calm,” “rest” or “at peace.” 

We have planted this tree in memory of Paul, my (Jade’s) cousin, at our home in Queenstown, New Zealand. I have many fond memories of him but mainly his cheeky contagious smile and kind heart. 

Acer palmatum is a deciduous shrub or small tree reaching heights of 6 to 10 m (20 to 33 ft), rarely 16 metres (52 ft), reaching a mature width of 4.5 to 10 metres (15 to 33 ft),ften growing as an understory plant in shady woodlands. It may have multiple trunks joining close to the ground. In habit, its canopy often takes on a dome-like form, especially when mature. The leaves are 4–12 cm long and wide, palmately lobed with five, seven, or nine acutely pointed lobes. The flowers are produced in small cymes, the individual flowers with five red or purple sepals and five whitish petals. The fruit is a pair of winged samaras, each samara 2–3 cm long with a 6–8 mm seed. The seeds of Acer palmatum and similar species require stratification in order to germinate.