Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'
Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' · Sapindaceae Popular
The best-known red Japanese maple: deeply cut leaves of dark burgundy that hold their colour all summer and turn crimson in autumn, on a small, layered tree.
- Size
- 15 ft tall, 15 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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'
The planner designed this bed around Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' 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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' × 1, burgundy leaves
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 43, yellow
- 3 Blue star creeper × 48, blue
- 4 Hollow Joe-Pye weed × 1, pink
- 5 Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' × 3, red
- 6 Swamp milkweed × 4, white
- 7 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 8 Indian pink × 16, red
- 9 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 5, green
- 10 Woodland phlox × 24, lavender
- 11 Winter heath 'Kramer's Red' × 3, pink
- 12 Easter lily × 5, white
- 13 Camassia × 6, blue
- 14 Asiatic lily × 5, orange
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 do northern sea oats 'River Mist' and winter heath 'Kramer's Red'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 15 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 10 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 27 of the 31 groups (87%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' and hollow Joe-Pye weed, the tallest plants on the plan. Blue star creeper is the plant there is most of: 48 of the 168. The Design check says heights, colour and the share of foliage needs revision.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 3 Good, 3 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 10 in at the front, 2½ ft in the middle and 4 ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 4 ft and 15 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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' goes in a border
At 15 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 small tree that anchors a whole bed and can be underplanted to its trunk. Shelter it from drying wind and hot afternoon sun, which scorch the leaf edges.
- The anchor of a mixed bed
- A specimen beside a terrace
- Autumn colour
What to plant with Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese forest grass: low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- 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.
- Sedge 'Evergold': low enough (12 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'
Does Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' need sun or shade?
Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' 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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' 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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' be planted?
13 ft (400 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 15 ft (450 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 15 ft (450 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 13 ft (400 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 13 ft apart: one plant for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' 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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'?
Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' comes from Asia: Japan, China, Korea, eastern Mongolia, southeastern Russia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Yellow twig dogwood: the same job in a bed; 8 ft shorter, 7 ft narrower.
- White fringe tree: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to early June, bold leaves, not medium.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'?
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 Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' look like in winter?
Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' good for bees and butterflies?
Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' 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
- Coral bark maple Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku'
- Golden fullmoon maple Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'
- 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
- 15 ft (450 cm) tall, 15 ft (450 cm) wide
- Plant
- 13 ft (400 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late April to early May; airy sprays; red, purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; burgundy, red
- Shape
- Rounded, 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.