Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy

Adult Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy

Adult Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy

Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy is a Dwarf Red Acer which is part of the Sapindaceae family. more info and is in the Linearilobum class of Japanese Maples which has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The Japanese Maple Red Pygmy is in the Linearilobum class, this class has very narrow long lobes, like strings or straps. The leaves are exceptionally long and thin, up to 10 cm long and 2 to 3 mm wide, new foliage can be 4 to 5 mm thick in contrast.

The Red Pygmy is a small Dwarf sized red Maple, it can reach to 1.5 meters tall with an equal spread or larger, it will take 10 years to reach full maturity and 7 years to reach its potential.

The Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy has a stand up shrubby character, vase-shaped, very branchy, growing vertical and horizontally. The branches and trunk are lovely lime green in colour with fawn white speckles throughout. They lead to a labyrinth of thinner softwood branches and shoots which support hundreds of leaves making this a very dense tree.

The Red Pygmy is very leafy and showy palmatum, the leaf colour and the shape of its leaves are by far it's the best character, there is a large spectrum of colours, from the stem to the tips.

The Japanese Acer Red Pygmy is a very popular Acer and is one of the best of the smaller red lace-leaf cultivars. Japanese Acers, in general, have a great variation in leaf colour and Acer Palmatum Red Pigmy is no exception.

Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy Spring Leaf

Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy Acer Palmatum Red Pygmy Leaf Cluster

In the spring the leaves emerge in a magnitude of colour, some leaves are red, purple, green or even mixed, green with red or purple edges, rather spectacular mixture. In the summer some of the reds and purple leaves fade to an olive green colour. The Red Pygmy comes into life in the autumn, the leaves change into an abundance of reds, purples and yellows, like an exploding firework.

Being a slow-growing Dwarf like maple it makes an ideal patio pot, it will not get too high or out of control, I would recommend it as a patio, courtyard or any Japanese Garden scene, a great addition to any garden.