Round, pleated leaves like open fans, of clear yellow-gold all summer, turning orange and red in autumn.
Size
13 ft tall, 10 ft wide
Zones
5 to 7
Light
Part 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 golden fullmoon maple
The planner designed this bed around golden fullmoon 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 golden fullmoon maple stands where it does.
A 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, part sun, seen from the path in early May.
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.
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 do Japanese pieris and Gray's sedge.
Why here
Anchors a back corner. At 13 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 brown-eyed Susan (4 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 8 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 31 of the 37 groups (84%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 6 kinds, in early August. The scheme leans cool (pink and blue) and uses yellow and orange for warmth, with white, cream and green to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
At 13 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.
It glows in shade like a lantern. Slow and never large, it suits the dappled light under tall trees. Full sun burns the leaves.
Gold foliage for part shade
A specimen in a woodland garden
Autumn colour
What to plant with golden fullmoon maple
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
Hosta 'Halcyon': bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Japanese forest grass: low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Black mondo grass: spires rising out of its mound; low enough (8 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about golden fullmoon maple
Does golden fullmoon maple need sun or shade?
Golden fullmoon maple grows in 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.
What zones does golden fullmoon maple grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 7. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 7 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 golden fullmoon maple be planted?
8 ft (250 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 13 ft (400 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many golden fullmoon maple plants do I need?
Usually one. At 8 ft (250 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 8 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is golden fullmoon 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 golden fullmoon maple?
Golden fullmoon maple comes from Japan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
Spicebush: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft shorter, flowers late March to mid April.
American elderberry: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft shorter, flowers mid June to mid July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat golden fullmoon maple?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does golden fullmoon maple look like in winter?
Golden fullmoon maple drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is golden fullmoon maple good for bees and butterflies?
Golden fullmoon maple is visited by pollinators and moths.
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.
Checked against NC State Extension.
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.
