Acer palmatum ‘Ryuzu’ Japanese Maple

Ryuzu, or Dragon’s Head Japanese Maple, is a beautiful dwarf tree with fascinating color changes and a dense habit. It was developed by Lucile Whitman of Whitman’s Farms in Salem, Oregon, and is considered a rare variety since nurseries often supply it in limited numbers.
This tree’s charm mainly comes from its sharp, twisted leaves that emerge in spring infused with an apricot-pink color at the edges, fading to light green with green veins at the midrib. Red flowers hang from the branches in spring and develop into red winged samaras. In summer, the pink color transitions to light green and then ignites in a yellow-orange hue in the fall. After the leaves drop, orange twigs provide a pop of color to the winter garden.
The beautiful leaf color is only part of this tree’s charm. The leaves grow close together and overlap, giving the tree a dense, compact look. It grows slowly, at 4″ to 6″ a year, reaching 4′ × 2′ in 10 years. Its size, slow growth, and kaleidoscope of colors make it an excellent choice for small properties, rock gardens, Asian gardens, containers, and bonsai. Its flowers draw beneficial insects, providing cover and a nesting place for birds.
Ryuzu grows best in partial shade and does well in the morning sun with afternoon shade and will grow in various soil types if they are well-draining. Water the tree at planting and then weekly for a year until the roots are established. Japanese maples like to be kept consistently moist but never soggy. They will not tolerate waterlogged, poorly draining soil. Remember that container-grown trees will need more frequent watering than those grown in the ground because the soil dries out quicker, especially in the warm weather. ‘Ryuzu’ is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and is humidity-tolerant and deer-resistant.
Other plants near and around ‘Ryuzu’ need to complement its colors and texture and have the same light and soil requirements. Evergreens, such as junipers, arborvitae, pines, rhododendrons, and hollies, provide a dark green backdrop for the light-colored maple.
Low-growing plants that can complement Ryuzu’s color are hellebores, dark-foliage coral bells, black mondo grass, small ferns, lilyturf, and lithodora. In spring, blooming bulbs add a pop of color underneath and around the tree, such as crocuses, daffodils, dwarf iris, winter aconite, tulips, anemones, cyclamen, squill, and glory-of-the-snow. Groundcovers, like pachysandra, bugle, periwinkle, flowering thyme, sedums, creeping phlox, and wintercreeper, provide a green carpet beneath the tree to complement the light-colored maple leaves.