Coral bark maple
Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku' · Sapindaceae
Young branches of brilliant coral red, brightest in winter, carry small, pale green leaves that turn soft yellow and apricot in autumn.
- Size
- 16½ ft tall, 11½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers late April to early May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around coral bark maple
The planner designed this bed around coral bark maple when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why coral bark maple stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Coral bark maple × 1, green leaves
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 44, yellow
- 3 Blue star creeper × 29, blue
- 4 Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' × 1, white
- 5 Canadian burnet × 3, white
- 6 Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' × 4, pink
- 7 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 8 Virginia bluebells × 27, blue
- 9 Creeping Jacob's ladder × 21, blue
- 10 Blue-eyed grass × 51, blue
- 11 Woodland phlox × 16, lavender
- 12 Dwarf crested iris × 95, lavender
- 13 Camassia × 7, blue
- 14 Henry's lily × 3, orange
- 15 Easter lily × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 16½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 47 of the 50 groups (94%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 7 kinds, from mid May. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 56 to 44, left to right. Worth a second look, according to the Design check: heights.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 10 in at the front, 18 in in the middle and 3½ ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 4 ft and 16½ ft, and no two neighbours are the same height.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where coral bark maple goes in a border
At 16½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A tree for winter: plant it where low sun lights the bark, against a dark evergreen. The colour is strongest on young wood and fades on old trunks.
- Winter bark colour
- A specimen against dark evergreens
- Autumn colour
What to plant with coral bark maple
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Snowdrop: adds the flowers, early March to late March; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Sweet box: adds the flowers, early February to late March; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about coral bark maple
Does coral bark maple need sun or shade?
Coral bark maple grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does coral bark maple grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should coral bark maple be planted?
10 ft (300 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 11½ ft (350 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16½ ft (500 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many coral bark maple plants do I need?
Usually one. At 10 ft (300 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 10 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is coral bark maple poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like coral bark maple?
Coral bark maple comes from Asia: Japan, China, Korea, eastern Mongolia, southeastern Russia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Shadblow serviceberry: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid April to early May.
- Yellow twig dogwood: the same job in a bed; 10 ft shorter, 4 ft narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat coral bark maple?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does coral bark maple look like in winter?
Coral bark maple drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for winter bark colour. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is coral bark maple good for bees and butterflies?
Coral bark maple is visited by pollinators, moths and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of imperial moth feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
More Acer
- Golden fullmoon maple Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'
- Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'
- Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Crimson Queen'
- Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Viridis' Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Viridis'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 16½ ft (500 cm) tall, 11½ ft (350 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 ft (300 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late April to early May; airy sprays; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Sapindaceae
- Comes from
- Asia: Japan, China, Korea, eastern Mongolia, southeastern Russia
- Attracts
- Pollinators, moths, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Imperial moth
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.