Seiryu Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Seiryu’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-9b Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 15-20′

Width at Maturity: 15′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Vase Shape

Growth Rate: Moderate, Fast

Foliage Color in Spring: Lime Green

Foliage Color in Summer: Medium Green

Foliage Color in Fall: Orange, Red, Yellow

Light Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average, moderately drought tolerant when established

Soil Type: Sandy, Loam & Clay (Condition heavy clay soils when planting)

Drainage: Well drained soil is a must!

Soil pH: 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal

Maintenance: Low

Resistances: Deer – more info, Heat Tolerant, Insect, Disease, Sun Tolerant

Description

One of the toughest but most delicate looking of the Japanese maples in our gardens, and among the easiest of to grow, the ‘Seiryu’ is an absolutely beautiful upright Japanese Maple with finely dissected lacy leaves, which are typical on the mounding dwarfs but rare on upright cultivars. The thin, ribbon-like leaves emerge a brilliant lime green in spring turning to medium green in summer and then to vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange for a stunning fall display. Seiryu grows 15 to 20 feet tall with a vase form with very natural branching similar to native dogwoods and can be grown in full sun to shady sites. Has demonstrated exceptional heat tolerance performing well as far south as USDA Zone 9.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, Seiryu Japanese Maple is best used in the landscape as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. That said, you can plant them in groupings of three or plant one on both sides of an entryway to accentuate the entrance.

Suggested Spacing: At least 20 feet apart for space between trees

Container culture can extend the useful range of Japanese Maples. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai. Click on the link below under Helpful Articles for Japanese Maple container planting instructions.

Note: One Japanese Maple can make a landscape…that is, if you don’t overcrowd it with other trees and plants. Therefore, when selecting companions to plant under or around your Japanese Maple, make sure to select low-growing shrubs or groundcovers that won’t interfere at all with your tree.

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Japanese Maple variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Though delicate looking, Japanese Maples are actually very tough and long-lived trees. They are very easy to grow. Container culture can extend their useful range. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai.

In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally they prefer to be grown in similar conditions. That said, you can find a complete listing of our sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties here, of which Seiryu is among the most sun tolerant!

Most any average garden soil will grow Japanese Maples. They prefer a moist but well-drained soil rich in organic matter. As with so many other ornamental plants and trees, constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic. So make sure to plant your Japanese Maple in a well-drained site.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Japanese Maple trees.

How To Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In The Ground

How to Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In A Pot

How To Fertilize And Water A Japanese Maple Tree

How To Prune A Japanese Maple

Plant Long & Prosper!

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Questions? Contact Us!

I ordered 4 Seiryu Japanese Maples and received 4 gorgeous full large trees. I ordered the 5 gallon size and recived very beautiful high quality trees. They are about 5 feet tall and 3 to 3.5 feet wide. The trees were also very well packaged. I order a lot of plants and these are some of the highest quality I have received. I have since ordered more trees from Wilson Brothers Gardens and I am equally as pleased.—————————————————-Thanks so much for the photo! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Great small tree for small gardens. Very healthy looking upon arrival.——————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

My new tree arrived safely, without any damages. I was happy that the roots were not pot bound, It needed no extra steps to plant it in the ground and it seems very happy. I will never regret this purchase look forward to seeing it mature. Wilson Bros. Online Nursery packed it well and sent it to me immediately!——————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

This tree came wrapped well and beautiful. I took out several crepe myrtles and replaced them with this maple. I can’t wait to watch it grow. So far it is doing great and loves my yard.————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I recently purchased a 5 gal. Seiryu Japanese Maple tree from you. It arrived well packed and in perfect condition. Such a tall well filled out tree. So pretty.—————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

This was my first order from Wilson Brothers Gardens.
My beautiful 5 gallon Seiryu Japanese Maple arrived unscathed as it was very well packed.
I was impressed by the size of the tree which was taller than I expected.
Highly recommend Wilson Brothers Gardens!————————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review and the kind words! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

The tree I ordered arrived very healthy and in great shape. I would never have thought to order a tree online but wouldn’t hesitate to order from Wilson Bros again.————————————-Thanks for the great review! We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG