tree

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum 'Green Hornet'

Add To My Plant List

 
Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Green Hornet') at Lurvey Garden Center

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple foliage

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple foliage

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Green Hornet') at Lurvey Garden Center

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Height:  8 feet

Spread:  10 feet

Sunlight:  full sun  partial shade 

Hardiness Zone:  5

Group/Class:  Dissectum

Description:

Delicate ferny leaves are light green tinged with red in spring, ending in fabulous fall colors; long gracefully arching branches add dimension to this small tree; Japanese maples are the most coveted of all small landscape trees

Ornamental Features

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its highly ornamental weeping form. It has attractive green deciduous foliage which emerges red in spring. The small deeply cut ferny palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding red in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple is a deciduous tree with a strong central leader and a rounded form and gracefully weeping branches. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Accent
  • Mass Planting
  • Hedges/Screening
  • General Garden Use
  • Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Green Hornet Cutleaf Japanese Maple is a fine choice for the yard, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight
Characteristics
Accent  Massing  Screening  Garden  Container 
Applications
Foliage Color  Fall Color  Texture  Plant Form 
Ornamental Features