Baby Lace Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Baby Lace’

4 reviews

This product is currently out of stock and unavailable.

Special Features

Easy Care

Fall Color

Spring Color

Botanical Name

Acer palmatum ‘Baby Lace’

Outdoor Growing zone

5-9

Mature Height

4-6

Mature Width

3-5

Sun needs

Partial Sun

DOES NOT SHIP TO

AK, CA, HI, PR

A tree for a gift should be something special and unique, not something that can be seen everywhere. The receiver will have a strong and beautiful memory of a special gift. So when choosing a gift tree, it is always best to think ‘something special’. With the Baby Lace Japanese Maple Tree, we have something very special for you, ideal as a gift – even if you are the receiver. This is the Baby Lace Japanese Maple Tree, a very special miniature tree with a kaleidoscope of pink, red and green leaves in spring, delicate green foliage all summer and vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves in fall. What makes this tree really remarkable though is the delicacy of the foliage, literally like the finest lace-work. The tree is naturally dense but spreading and very low-growing, so to enhance its beauty we have attached it to a taller root-stock, so that it becomes a broad tree on a short trunk, showing its beauty much more than it would when growing low to the ground.

Elegant small tree for the small garden or in a container
Thrives in the partial shade of larger trees
Stunning pink, red and green spring leaves
Beautiful fall colors of yellow, orange and red
Easily grown in most soils and hardy to minus 20

This is one of the most sought-after Japanese maples and not something you will see in an ordinary garden center. So as a gift it is ideal for that special surprise. Since it will grow anywhere where the winter temperatures are above minus 20, wherever you want to send this tree it will be very happy. It will grow well in any kind of soil that is not constantly wet, but it does best with a steady supply of water. For the ideal gift tree for any garden, even the smallest and even for someone who only has a patio or terrace for plants, the Baby Lace Japanese Maple Tree truly is the perfect choice.

Many gardeners are familiar with the cut-leaf Maples, those elegant and graceful small trees from Japan with finely divided foliage. Although related to our large Sugar Maples and Red Maples, these trees are very different. They have been collected for centuries in Japan and more recently in the West, with enthusiasts finding new and novel specimens to enchant all of us. At the Tree Center we specialize in a wide range of these trees, covering all types, and we have looked through our collection and selected some that are particularly suitable as gifts because of their unique character. A gift needs to be something special, that will be generous and thoughtful, and a tree such as this Baby Lace Japanese Maple Tree, is perfect to do just that.

What makes this tree very special is the unique coloring and the incredibly quality of the foliage. The leaves are especially finely divided, then divided again, literally resembling a delicate piece of hand-made lace. These leaves are carried elegantly on long leaf-stalks, giving the foliage an ‘airy’ look of true quality. The natural habit of this tree is sprawling, spreading widely but not growing tall at all. We felt that this was not the best way to show off this tree, so we had our specialist growers attach it to a short trunk so that it would be brought higher to be better admired.

Wherever and however you grow your Baby Lace Japanese Maple Tree, you can be sure that this gift tree will bring joy and beauty to the receiver year after year – but our supplies are limited and when this rarity is available requests come rapidly. So, if you want to buy the perfect gift tree for anyone, including yourself, order now.

Growing Baby Lace Japanese Maple Trees

In time this tree will grow between 4 and 6 feet tall, with a spreading crown a little wider than its height. In spring, as the buds open, the expanding leaves will go through a symphony of color changes, being pink, red and green in turn, even all on the same leaf. As summer comes the leaves become a quiet and soft light green, in keeping with a season of relaxation and calmness, but as fall arrives a new riot will break out, with shades of yellow, orange and red splashed across the leaves, before they fall to the ground, ending another season.

Planting Location

Choose a spot in the garden which is partially shaded, especially during the afternoon heat, so that the leaves will be protected from scorching. This tree will be happy in any soil that is moist but well-drained, and adding some organic material during planting, and as annual mulch, will help keep the soil damp too.

Uses on Your Property

Such a versatile tree can be used as a small specimen in a Japanese-influenced garden, or in any garden at all. It will look charming in the partial shade beneath larger trees, or among flowering shrubs like Azaleas and Rhododendrons. Planted into a large pot – make sure there are drainage holes – it can be placed on a terrace, patio or balcony and moved around to show its seasonal beauty, as the Japanese do with their prized trees. Move it into a shady area for summer, bring it into the sun in spring and fall to develop the best colors. A tree in a pot is a great asset in the garden, allowing you to make changing scenes as you choose.

History and Origins of the Baby Lace Japanese Maple

Like other special Japanese Maples, this tree was found by chance. A teacher called Rick Rey, at the Delaware Valley Agricultural School, saw an unusual shoot on another variety of Japanese Maple and propagated the piece as a separate plant. This was in the early 1980’s, and the name ‘Baby Lace’ was given to the plant by a nurseryman who saw and grew it. Since then this plant has risen to a special position among aficionados of these lovely trees, who see this as one of the most exotic and special Japanese Maples.