Baby Ghost Japanese Maple

If you want a tree-like Japanese maple, but only have a small garden, or want it for a pot, then the miniature beauty of the Baby Ghost Japanese Maple is what you need. Forming a perfect tree, but just 6 feet tall and wide, eventually perhaps passing 8 feet but hardly more, this remarkable tree is a reticulate variety, meaning that the leaf veins remain green, contrasting with the actual leaf coloring. Spring growth is pale amber to pink and soft reds, turning greener, with red highlights, through summer. In fall it explodes into brilliant oranges and reds. The leaves are deeply cut into 7 slender fingers, like the hands of an alien baby. This is a beautiful tree for that special spot in your courtyard, or beside a bench. It’s also a great choice for a pot, and would make a remarkable bonsai tree as well.

• Deeply-cut leaves into 7 lobes, with contrasting light-green veins
• Spring growth is amber, light pink and soft reds, while the veins remain pale green
• Summer is green with soft red highlights
• Fall is a carnival of oranges and reds
• A perfect miniature tree, not a dense shrub

Grow the Baby Ghost Japanese Maple in a spot that has morning sun and shade for the rest of the day, or in very light full shade. Leaf coloring is affected by light levels, but too much sun or dry soil can scorch the leaves, so choose a suitable spot with care. The soil should be moist but well-drained, with plenty of rich compost dug in and used as mulch. In a pot, add 20% fine gravel to regular potting soil to improve the drainage. Water regularly, especially during the early years, as this tree is not drought tolerant. Deer don’t eat it, and it doesn’t have pests or diseases, but does need attention to its water needs. Some pruning in early spring will develop a mature look more quickly – remove some of the internal branches and consider which stems you want to keep. Early pruning means no scaring on the trunk, so it’s the best approach to take.