Acer palmatum Cascade Gold - Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum 'Cascade Gold' is, as its name suggests, a weeping Japanese maple with golden yellow foliage. A cross between 'Ryusen' and 'Orange Dream', it combines the advantages of each variety. Its young foliage is yellow, beautifully edged with reddish-orange in spring, then turns bright tender green in summer before taking on fiery tones in autumn. With its compact size, it is perfect for enhancing small spaces and for container gardening. To protect it from cold winds and drought, provide it with a sheltered, non-scorching exposure and humus-rich, moist and non-calcareous soil.

Originally from Eastern China, Korea, and Japan, Acer palmatum has given rise to numerous horticultural varieties that compete in beauty. Japanese maple belongs, like all maples, to the Sapindaceae family (formerly Aceraceae). It is relatively hardy, but cannot tolerate dry and cold winds, scorching exposures, and dry and calcareous soils. The 'Cascade Gold' cultivar is a Dutch creation resulting from the cross-breeding between the 'Ryusen' and 'Orange Dream' varieties, inheriting both a weeping habit and young golden foliage edged with intense orange and red. It is a compact, columnar tree with widely trailing branches. It will reach, depending on the growing conditions, an average size of 1m (3ft) in all directions. In spring, this small tree develops golden yellow shoots and leaves edged with reddish-orange. They unfold into palmate leaves, divided into 5 to 7 dentate lobes. In summer, the lamina turns bright tender green. Just before falling, the leaves take on a magnificent yellow-orange and reddish-orange hue. The discreet flowering occurs in May-June. The flowers, grouped in small clusters, sometimes produce fruits with curved wings, called samaras, measuring 3cm (1in) long.

With its flamboyant colours and remarkable weeping habit, Acer palmatum 'Cascade Gold' stands out from afar, whether in the garden or placed in a container on a terrace. Extremely decorative from spring to autumn, it deserves a prime spot. Japanese maple is not strictly speaking an acidic-soil plant, but it prefers soils rich in humus that remain moist. Chinese azaleas, pieris, hydrangeas, wild camellias, ferns, and heathers will be its most beautiful companions. It can form a magnificent bonsai to be cultivated in a flat tray. Combine several varieties of Japanese maples to vary the colours and structures of the foliage; the effect is always dazzling at the end of the season. Consider pairing it with dark foliage plants such as Hydrangea aspera 'Hot Chocolate' or Loropetalums.