Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen'
Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Crimson Queen' · Sapindaceae Popular
A low, weeping dome of thread-fine, deep crimson foliage that cascades to the ground and turns scarlet in autumn.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 11½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen'
The planner designed this bed around laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' × 1, burgundy leaves
- 2 Leadwort × 55, blue
- 3 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 33, pink
- 4 Hollow Joe-Pye weed × 1, pink
- 5 Canadian burnet × 4, white
- 6 Brown-eyed Susan × 8, yellow
- 7 Joe-Pye weed 'Baby Joe' × 3, pink
- 8 Blue-eyed grass × 50, blue
- 9 Wild geranium × 8, pink
- 10 Golden Alexanders × 3, yellow
- 11 Barren strawberry × 52, yellow
- 12 Camassia × 6, blue
- 13 Oriental lily 'Stargazer' × 5, pink
- 14 Asiatic lily × 4, orange
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 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 Asiatic lily (3 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 16 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 33 of the 41 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Blue-eyed grass stands beside wild geranium, a proven pairing. Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' and hollow Joe-Pye weed anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' goes in a border
At 8 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.
The most widely planted laceleaf maple, because it keeps its red through summer heat. It grows slowly and wider than tall: give it the room, and never crowd its skirt.
- A weeping specimen for a small garden
- Beside a pond or boulder
- A focal point in part shade
What to plant with laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese forest grass 'Aureola': low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Hosta: bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Autumn fern: low enough (22 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen'
Does laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' need sun or shade?
Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen'?
Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' comes from Japan, Korea, and China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Yellow twig dogwood: the same job in a bed; 20 in shorter, 4 ft narrower.
- Inkberry: the same job in a bed; 20 in shorter, 5 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 laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' look like in winter?
Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' good for bees and butterflies?
Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' 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.
More Acer
- Coral bark maple Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku'
- Golden fullmoon maple Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'
- Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'
- Laceleaf Japanese maple 'Viridis' Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Viridis'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 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
- Fine texture, deciduous; burgundy, red
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Sapindaceae
- Comes from
- Japan, Korea, and China
- Attracts
- Pollinators, moths
- Host plant for
- Imperial moth
- Stands up to
- Rabbits
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.