Japanese Maples at the Terrace Shop

Acer palmatum 'Peaches and Cream'

By Annie Yang
Duke Class of 2020
Photos by Annie Yang

If you missed this month’s Spring Plant Sale (our most successful ever -- thank you!) or if your garden is calling out for more, there are still plants available in Duke Gardens' Terrace Shop, including many cultivars of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum).

Native to Japan, China, Korea, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia, these plants are super versatile and come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. Some varieties are naturally smaller and shorter and can grow in containers. Other cultivars can serve as understory plants grouped together in shady woodland areas of a garden.

Japanese maples usually run relatively small for trees, but some of them can stand out even when planted alone. Their leaves run a whole spectrum of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, purple. In general, they prefer some afternoon shade but also a good deal of sunlight to showcase their colorful foliage.

Japanese maples require well-drained and consistently moist soil, as well as protection from strong winds. Watch out for late spring frosts, which they are especially vulnerable to when young. Despite this, many cultivars are relatively easy to grow and are long-lived. Below are a few of the Japanese maple cultivars available at the Terrace Shop. We recommend that you call in advance (919-684-9037) if there is a particular cultivar you are seeking.

Acer palmatum 'Summer Gold'

‘Summer Gold’

True to its name, ‘Summer Gold’ maintains an energetic yellow color throughout the summer, as well as the fall. Its foliage starts off light green in the summer and deepens into the fall, retaining wonderful shades for months.

Standing at 10 to 12 feet at maturity, ‘Summer Gold’ is a somewhat taller tree compared to its Japanese maple relatives. This tree thrives in well-drained soil and has average water needs. It is also resistant to deer and insects, and it is drought tolerant. ‘Summer Gold’ distinguishes itself from other Japanese maples not only with its color but also with its ability to withstand full sun without burning. This is a tree that is well adapted to the summer and isn’t afraid of full sun, heat or humidity.

‘Autumn Fire’

The leaves on this deciduous tree start off typically green like any other tree you might encounter in the early spring. But as spring transitions into summer and then into fall, ‘Autumn Fire’ begins to show its true colors. The edges of its unique, narrow leaves are first tinged with red, and eventually a fiery red engulfs the entire leaf. In the fall, ‘Autumn Fire’ is alight with its stunning scarlet hues, standing out even in a season packed with attractive foliage colors.

Acer palmatum 'Autumn Fire'

‘Autumn Fire’ grows to be about 6 to 8 feet tall and requires well-drained, rich soil and regular watering. As a bonus, ‘Autumn Fire’ can also tolerate humidity. Like many Japanese maples, this tree prefers full to partial sun. But be careful exposing ‘Autumn Fire’ to too much full sun or else it will really burn!

‘Peaches and Cream’

When I first encountered this tree, I wasn’t sure what was so “creamy” about ‘Peaches and Cream’. There seemed to be a lot more peaches implied by the red than any cream or white! But to truly appreciate ‘Peaches and Cream’ you really have to follow it through the seasons. In the early spring, the leaves on this deciduous tree actually take on a pale green, almost white color, accentuating its veins, which are still dark green. As the weather gets colder, the cream is replaced by an orange-yellow color reminiscent of sweet summer peaches.

As with other Japanese Maples, ‘Peaches and Cream’ is on the shorter side, from 6 to 12 feet tall, but it certainly makes up in personality and vibrancy what it lacks in stature. ‘Peaches and Cream’ thrives in acidic, well-drained and rich soil, and it is also drought and humidity resistant. This tree can grow under mostly sun to mostly shade, but it prefers the shade. Imagine enjoying a bowl of peaches and cream under the cool canopy of a tree during the summer!

The following cultivars may also still be available through the Terrace Shop: Vitifolium, Taki no Gawa, Green Mist, Skeeter’s Broom, Crimson Princess, Katsura, Alan’s Gold, Calico, Meigetsu, Little Cindy, Emerald Lace and Tamukeyama.

Thank you again to all shoppers for making the 2018 Spring Plant Sale our most successful ever! If you love gardening, remember that Duke Gardens members get 10% off all plant purchases at the spring and fall sales, and first dibs at the members-only preview sale in spring. Please see our website to learn more about becoming a member of Duke Gardens.

Fall Colors in Duke Gardens

The Woodland Bridge in the Doris Duke Center Gardens.
Photo by Clarence Burke.

By Sheon Wilson
Publication Coordinator

Fall colors are spectacular at Duke Gardens, and despite our dry summer, this year is no exception.

Visitors are marveling at the sugar maples (Acer saccharum) that flank the parking lot as they enter, and they're raving about the camellia flowers in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum.

Japanese maple leaves.
Photo by Sue Lannon.

“They all comment, saying [the maples] are so pretty and the color is breathtaking,” says Sue Schneider, a Duke Gardens ambassador who greets visitors at the Gothic Gates. “And in the Asiatic Arboretum, the red bridge with the maples in the Japanese garden are spectacular.”

Schneider also volunteers in the arboretum, where fall visitors are often surprised by the blooming camellias.

“People who aren’t from this area say, ‘Wow, what is that?’ ” she says. “They can’t believe what they’re seeing.”

Seasonal color has peaked in western North Carolina, but deciduous trees in the Triangle weren’t in any hurry to put on their fall coats of yellow, orange and red in early fall. Now the show is on.

Fall's changing colors. Photo by Sue Lannon.

Each fall, changes in temperature and the length of daylight cause leaves to stop the food-making process in cells containing the chlorophyll. As chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors become visible. The College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., offers a fuller explanation.

If that makes you want to learn more, check out classes at Duke Gardens that delve into plant life, including “The Winter Garden” at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 6, “Landscape Plants for North Carolina Gardens” in February, and “Basic Botany and Plant Growth” in February and March.

Ginkgo biloba.
Photo by Jason Holmes.

Horticulturist Michelle Rawlins has the perfect picture of fall in her head, and it involves the magnificent large maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) in the Historic Gardens, planted about 50 years ago.

“A couple of years ago, there was a girl, probably about 5, in a red petticoat underneath the ginkgo, picking leaves up and throwing them in the air,” Rawlins said. “It was the epitome of perfect, and it's a mental picture that I carry with me.”

The ginkgo is one of Rawlins’ favorites because “it's a tree that turns gold one day, and then the leaves start falling, and it's raining fall color.” There’s still time this fall to see the tail end of the ginkgo’s golden display.

Camellias in
Pine Clouds Mountain Stream.
Photo by Sue Lannon.

Rawlins, a prize-winning chrysanthemum grower, also recommends checking out the numerous mums displayed throughout the Asiatic Arboretum. The diversity of color, shape, size and form makes these plants eternally fascinating.

“We've had a lot of good compliments on them,” she said. “It's a flower that's doing its thing when not much else is.”

Winter Delights in the Kathleen Smith Moss Garden

 Lily seed pods

Acer palmatum 'Emperor 1'

By Flora O'Brien
Duke Gardens Volunteer

It's mid-December in the Kathleen Smith Moss Garden, where I spend many enjoyable hours as a horticulture volunteer. The joyous distractions of summer have passed, leaving a calm and verdant richness. The underlying architecture of the garden becomes more evident. It is a time to walk slowly and notice small things.

Budding tree peony.

The Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Emperor 1’) is particularly beautiful.The tree holds its leaves later than many other trees, then sheds them in a flurry of crimson, and they end up in a spectacular array around its feet.

Daphne odora ready to pop! Photo by Sarah Leach Smith.

The lily seed pods (Lilium sp.; photo at top), the buds and blossoms on the tree peonies and Fuji cherry (Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’) have begun to appear, and the Daphne odora has set its buds.

Paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha)

Look at the small grove of paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) surrounding the beautiful American cherry wood bench. The  leaves have fallen, revealing a mass of nodding satiny flower buds.

Closer inspection will reward you with ferns, the berries of sacred lily, and of course the subtle shapes and colors of the lush blanket of mosses.

Close-up of paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha). Photo by Sue Lannon.

Located between the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden and the traditional Japanese-style arched bridge (see map here), this space is a surprise to be discovered, a cherished jewel within the larger Culberson Asiatic Arboretum.

Now the garden seems to rest, awaiting the evolution of winter. But wonders await those who would spend a quiet moment in this quiet space.



All photos by Flora O'Brien, except where noted.