Japanese Maple Highlight: Crimson Queen
Hello and welcome to Maple Ridge Musings. So far, we’ve talked about our history and discussed how to handle extreme heat and drought. For this edition of the blog I wanted to do our first Japanese Maple highlight. Let’s start with a classic: Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’.
‘Crimson Queen’ is one of the very most popular Japanese Maples in the world and is often the first tree people think of when they think of Japanese Maples. Introduced back in the 1960s, ‘Crimson Queen’ has become the gold standard by which all other lace leaf Japanese Maples are judged. The name says it all as this tree is undoubtedly royalty in the gardening world, winning the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 1993.
This is an extreme example of how a ‘Crimson Queen’ can grow without pruning. Kinda looks like Snuffleupagus!
‘Crimson Queen’ is known for its brilliant color and graceful shape. Named for its crimson spring color, this tree emerges as one of the most gorgeous Japanese Maples in early spring. In cooler climates, the crimson, red leaves will remain through most of the summer. However, in the South these leaves will turn green by July and develop a bronze hue if planted in full sun. The spring color can be kept longer into the summer in hotter climates if this tree is provided afternoon shade. Regardless of the summer color, ‘Crimson Queen’ performs one last show as the leaves turn bright red in the fall. As this tree ages, the branching structure takes on almost as big a role as the leaves, making ‘Crimson Queen’ beautiful even in the winter. If left alone, ‘Crimson Queen’ becomes a flowy, shrub-like tree that can wonderfully fill out a space in the garden. However, with quality pruning it can become a work of art and a real show stopper.
It is a dwarf tree that can be used in nearly every landscape. In most situations ‘Crimson Queen’ can be expected to grow between 4 and 6 feet tall and about 6 to 8 feet wide in 10 years. I’ve seen it listed many places as reaching upwards of 10 feet at maturity. While it is certainly possible that a ‘Crimson Queen’ could eventual reach this height with training and perfect growing conditions, it would be very much out of the norm and would likely take 20 years or more. ‘Crimson Queen’ is not the smallest of Japanese Maples, but it is certainly a dwarf variety that will fit in most spaces.
Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’ at its old location at our front entrance. Watch how the tree has changed over the years.
Another wonderful characteristic of ‘Crimson Queen’ is its propensity to handle full sun in even the hottest climates. It would prefer to be protected from the direct afternoon sun in order to deliver the best color, but it’s tough enough to handle the heat. Even though these trees will handle full sun, they can burn in the late summer months while young. This is completely normal and will happen less as the tree matures. ‘Crimson Queen’ can handle all but the extreme environments in the United States, performing very well in zones 5-8.
This ‘Crimson Queen’ can be found on our property at the entrance to the memorial garden we built for my dad a few years ago. This tree is roughly thirty years old and has been a mainstay at the nursery my entire life. For most of my childhood it was planted at the front entrance of the nursery where it welcomed all our visitors while offering a display for what their new trees could one day become. In 2007, construction forced us to move our signature tree. It spent a few years in a large container before finally settling into its current location.
This is the same ‘Crimson Queen’ in a 150 gallon container. The fall color is stunning!
I love the location of this tree as it’s the first thing you notice when you begin your tour through this section of the garden. It demands your attention right away. It is also large enough to help conceal much of the rest of the garden, keeping everything else a mystery before the visitor enters the garden. This tree has been with my family for my entire life and it is only fitting that it is now a fixture in my dad’s memorial garden.
This ‘Crimson Queen’ currently resides at the entrance to my dad’s memorial garden. From this angle it shields the visitor from the rest of the garden until you enter to the left of the tree.