Description:

This variety has foliage which starts out rich red and turns various shades of red over the summer, eventually getting fiery in fall before the leaves drop; a small ornamental feature tree popular for its red summer foliage

Ornamental Features

Novum Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive red deciduous foliage which emerges dark red in spring. The small lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding scarlet in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Novum Japanese Maple is a dense deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Novum Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade
• Mass Planting

Planting & Growing

Novum Japanese Maple will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.