Moonfire Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum 'Moonfire'

Moonfire Japanese Maple is a deciduous tree with an upright rounded crown and palmate leaves that a emerge deep burgundy that either holds in well summer when in more shade or shifts to burgundy red before bronzing, and turns bright fire engine red in fall. Small, non-showy but attractive umbels of red flowers bloom in spring followed by samaras. Grows best in rich, moist, slightly acidic well-drained soils.  Prefers full sun in cooler climates, but prefers  afternoon shade in southern areas.  Moonfire can tolerate full sun in the south.

MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low maintenance.  Water regularly.  Mulch in southern climates to keep roots cool.  Keep pruning to a minimum and prune in fall or winter.  Potential issues include stem canker, leaf spots, fusarium, wilt, botrytis, anthracnose, and root rots.  Potential insect pests include aphids, scale, borers, root weevils, and mites.  Chlorosis may occur in high pH soils

LANDSCAPE USES: Group Plantings or Specimen Tree,  Naturalized Areas,  Woodland Gardens,  Privacy Screen, and  Street Tree.

COMPANION PLANTS:  Azalea,  Black Mondo Grass,  Rhododendron

IMAGES: Photo by David J. Stang,  Acer japonicum Moonfire 1zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (2) Photo by David J. Stang,  Acer japonicum Moonfire 0zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (3) Megan Hansen, Acer Palmatum 'Moonfire' (4) Megan Hansen, Acer palmatum 'Moonfire' 12

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.