Acer palmatum 'BLOODGOOD'

Japanese maples are the créme de la créme of every garden. A majestic looking tree or shrub needs no pruning at all to look good and we recommend letting it form its own shape. Yet it is one of the most used trees for bonsai-making and shaping of various kinds.

Bloodgood is a purple-leaved Japanese maple variety of rapid growth which will create the typical Japanese garden atmosphere both as a specimen tree and as a backdrop. It is a very successful variety, especially thanks to the reliable foliage colour. Its deciduous leaves are dark maroon, deeply lobed with most usually 7 tips, and do not change colour during summer like some other purple-leaved maples. In autumn they turn bright red. The colour of bark and twigs is dark purple-black which easily distinguishes Bloodgood from similar varieties during dormancy.

It forms a tall shrub or small, usually multi-stemmed tree with an airy yet dense canopy. It exhibits upright growth at first, but with age it forms a rounded crown as one of the few red-leaved Japanese maples. Although it grows moderately fast, its height in gardens usually slows down once it reaches around 3-4 meters and begins to thicken the canopy. The width of the crown in the canopy rarely exceeds 3m in common gardens, but the total size in parks and sites with unlimited root space can be up twice as much or perhaps a bit more.

Bloodgood is an easy-care, hardy plant, which does not need much maintenance. Just watch out for dry leaves and branch ends in full season which might mean a monilia infection. In such case the plant has to be treated against the illness immediately. This variety does well in full sun, too. Japanese maples require light, slightly acidic, semi-fertile, moist soil to establish extensive root system. Young plants need mulching for winter. Plants older than 3 years are reliably hardy to at least -27 °C (USDA zone 5b), perhaps a few degrees more.

Last update 08-12-2008; 05-09-2023