tree

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum 'Yellow Bird'

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Yellow Bird Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Yellow Bird') at Lurvey Garden Center

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple foliage

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple foliage

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Yellow Bird') at Lurvey Garden Center

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Height:  15 feet

Spread:  10 feet

Sunlight:  full sun  partial shade 

Hardiness Zone:  4

Description:

Deeply cut leaves in multitudes makes this an interesting variety; leaves are layered on branches in such a way that reminds one of a bird's wing; foliage is a bright green-yellow turning to a regal gold in fall

Ornamental Features

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its characteristic tiered habit of growth. It has attractive chartreuse deciduous foliage. The small serrated lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn outstanding shades of yellow and gold in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple is a multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a stunning habit of growth which features almost oriental horizontally-tiered 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.

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Accent
  • Mass Planting
  • General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Yellow Bird Japanese Maple will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy 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.

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