Red Dragon Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Red Dragon’
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-9a Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Deciduous Shrub or Tree
Height at Maturity: 4-5′
Width at Maturity: 4-6′
Growth Habit / Form: Mounding, Weeping
Growth Rate: Slow
Foliage Color in Spring: Purple-red
Foliage Color in Summer: Burgundy-red
Foliage Color in Fall: Crimson-red
Light Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun, Mostly Shade
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 our all-time favorites of the lace leaf Japanese Maples, ‘Red Dragon’ is a sun-tolerant dwarf with a mounding form and weeping branches covered in lacy, ribbon-like leaves. The leaves emerge a deep purple in spring, gradually turn to purplish red in summer and finally to a stunning, crimson-red in fall. The leaves hold their rich color better in sun than any other lace leaf variety we’ve grown. Growing slowly to about 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, Red Dragon is ideal for smaller garden spaces and containers.
Landscape & Garden Uses
To showcase its magnificence and beauty, the Red Dragon Japanese Maple is ideal for use in garden beds and containers as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. That said, Japanese Maples are often used to accentuate entryways by planting one on both sides of an entrance, or spaced widely in small clusters of three.
Suggested Spacing: 8 feet or more apart for space between plants
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 under Helpful Articles below 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 choosing companions to plant under or around your Japanese Maple, make sure to select low-growing shrubs or groundcover plants 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 cultivar is not reliably winter hardy outdoors, 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, there are many sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties, of which Red Dragon is one.
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!
Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff
Questions? Contact Us!
We love our Red Dragon Japanese Maple. It arrived well packaged. We planted it in the back yard and plan to plant flowers around it next Spring. It’s the perfect color and size. Great customer service when you have a question. Will be ordering from Wilson again.——————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words, the photos and the wonderful review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I ordered this to replace the 1 gallon one my dog chewed up while it was still in the pot. It was a beautiful tree. I planted it with hope but it did not make it. I really like the size of this one. It arrived safe and sound. I put mushroom compost in the hole and planted it. It is a great looking, healthy tree. I am so glad I found Wilson Brothers. I appreciate all of your help when I have questions. I thank you for having such a selection of healthy products. Oh, I love the shape of the leaves on this Red Dwarf Japanese Maple!!!!!!!!!!——————————————————Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I received my tree in perfect condition. The packaging was excellent, not one leaf broken. I’m looking forward to watching it grow.———————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy your purchase for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
My dwarf lace Red Maple arrived in perfect condition. The lovely wide shape and height immediately filled her new space. I wanted a beautiful specimen to pot so that I could move it and this one fits the bill. Extremely pleased. My Master Gardner best friend was impressed too.—————————————————————-Thanks for the photo! Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
This is the 5th Japanese maple I have ordered from Wilson’s. They are better quality for the price than I can find anywhere near Boston and offer a much larger diversity of plants. The maples I have received are large, well branched and undamaged after shipping. Don’t hesitate about buying Japanese Maples from Wilson Bros.——————————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
We are delighted with our Japanese Maple Red Dragon. Wilson Bros packaged it extremely well and securely. They had it ready in just 2 days to give to USPS!. The tree is in excellent condition. The Wilson staff who answer the phone are knowledgeable and helpful- in all my 3 calls—when I first inquired, and when selecting which gallon size, and later when I was not able to track the UPS truck. (They provided the info and the truck arrived the next day.) When I selected the size tree the staff helped me via text with both the general dimensions and with photos of the 3 and 5 gallon trees. I would definitely purchase with them again. I also appreciate their thorough information about tree care on their website, including their good advice on winter covering.————————————————–Thanks for the photo!! 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
I am Very Happy with my Dwarf Japanese Maple, it arrived in Great shape and is doing well after being planted. It is a Great center piece for my flower garden. Thank You!—————————————————-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
We are so thrilled that we have access to Wilson Brothers. We lived in McDonough for 18 years. I drove by your nursery every day when working at Henry County High. All of our plants came from your nursery. We retired to Myrtle Beach where everything is palm trees and palmettos. We couldn’t be happier with the tree and grasses we ordered from you. They are thriving and look great. We will definitely be repeat customers.———————————————————–We love and miss all our retail customers. We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and great review! Beth | WBG 🙂
•• update the tree has full leaves and the color is amazing and the tree’s shape is perfect, new pic included•••
This tree was very well priced. Customer service responded quickly to a request for the current height of 3 gallon plant. Tree was tall with really good shape, it arrived quickly and well packed. Tree has buds and limbs are growing already. Fence in pic is 6ft for reference on tree size.——————————————————Thanks so much for the photos. 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 was very well priced. Customer service responded quickly to a request for the current height of 3 gallon plant. Tree was tall with really good shape, it arrived quickly and well packed. Tree has buds and limbs are growing already. Fence in pic is 6ft for reference on tree size.——————————————————Thanks so much for the photos. 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
First let me say say, I love my new Dwarf Red Dragon Japanese Maple…it is a cute, heathy baby. Truth be told, I was a little hesitant to buy from a company that I did not personally know or have any prior experience with. I did my due diligence and decided to give Wilson Brothers Gardens a go. I can now say, with the utmost certainty, that these guys are the ‘real deal’! Not only did they send me a beautiful, healthy little tree but the packaging was superb! Also, as a novice gardener, Wilson Brother’s website is chock full of valuable, well laid out instructional information. My feeling is that if my baby Japanese Maple does not make it, the responsibility is on my shoulders. The staff at Wilson Brothers is also very attentive and respond quickly and fully to ANY of the questions and/or requests that I have made. Kuddos to all at Wilson Brothers Gardens! To quote a famous ‘Arnold’ line from the movies…”I’ll be back!”——————————————–Wow!! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks so much for the kind words and awesome review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
If I could give more stars I would. We received our tree today. Beautiful package, and we are so happy with the tree. The service was great and shipping was fast. Thank you again Wilsonbrosgarden. We will be recommending to our family and friends.————————————————————-Thanks for the photo, it is beautiful! We are so glad yall are pleased and we hope yall enjoy it for years to come! Thanks so much for the great review and kind words! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
A huge box arrived, brought it inside and opened up immediately, well packaged and nicely leafed out. Planted same afternoon with a generous drink and kept it tied to the bamboo stake. Very happy with condition and size of treee, a very happy customer here in Southcentral PA.—————————————-We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and great review! Beth | WBG 🙂
Ultimately we recurved a beautiful, healthy tree…not one leaf was lost in transit. However, our first attempt was held up on the delivery truck for over 5 days and was in transit for 10. With temps in the high 90’s, it didn’t make it. It was totally the fault of the carrier. Spencer walked us through trying to revive it but when that failed, he sent us a replacement which arrived in an extremely timely manner and in beautiful shape. We couldn’t have picked a better tree from our local nursery. We look forward to enjoying the beauty of this tree for years to come. Thank you Wilson Bros!————————————————–So sorry for the shipping problem, but so glad it all got resolved!!We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG 🙂
Beautiful tree arrived in perfect condition. Not a single leaf lost on an 800-mile trip. Came out of the box looking like I just brought it home from the nursery. Planted 6 weeks ago and healthy so far!———————-We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG
Arrived on time in perfect condition. I planted both in front of porch columns on the northeast side of house. They are thriving. I feel this was money well spent. Thank you, Wilson Brothers!——————————–We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG
My expectations were exceeded. Beautifully packaged so as not to damage during transport and very healthy.————————————Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG
The tree arrived quickly. It was very healthy and in good shape. Beautiful tree.———————————-We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG
So far great! The tree came packaged and ready to plant. Thanx.—————————Hi Robert, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Red Dragon Dwarf Japanese Maple. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come!
Though I had a vision, the lady at Wilson Bros verified my plans, filled my knowledge/experience gap, and provided more than enough support and guidance to make my vision a reality. My wife is elated and I am proud. My red dragon is sure to be the center piece of my garden space and I can’t wait to see it live and grow. I strongly recommend Wilson Bros and I will be shopping there again!——————————–WBG Reply: Hi Ken, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Red Dragon Dwarf Japanese Maple. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words!
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens
I purchased the Red Dragon Dwarf Japanese Maple from Wilson Brothers in Fall of 2017 as an accent plant for my terraced garden. It arrived in mint condition and very carefully packaged. It looks quite beautiful where I have it planted and I can’t wait to see it grow to maturity. I highly recommend Wilson Brothers for excellent customer service, quick delivery and quality plants. —————— WBG Reply: Hi Roberta – Thanks so much for your review of the Red Dragon Japanese Maple and for the compliments. Hope you enjoy this magnificent tree for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens
I received my tree ( which I am giving as a gift ) and was pleasantly surprised! It is much taller than I expected, with a great bunch of branches. It is past season, so it has no leaves but, I am happy with the size and shape.
This is my second Red Dragon from Wilson Bros Gardens. Very nice tree like the last one. I planted one in the front yard and planted this one near my patio in the back. I’m hoping it stays smaller like they say. A Crimson Queen I planted 20 years ago is almost 10 feet tall and wide now. Red Dragon is supposed to be smaller and that’s why I bought them.
I was amazed at the quality and size of the Red Dragon when I opened the box. Will definatly by from them again
I love my Japanese maple. Great customer service.



























Reviews
There are no reviews yet.