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Bihou Japanese Maple foliage

Bihou Japanese Maple foliage

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Bihou Japanese Maple stems

Bihou Japanese Maple stems

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Description:

A beautiful small tree featuring glowing yellow bark with an orange tinge in winter; new leaves emerge pink in spring, turn chartreuse, then emerald green in summer, finishing with a fall display of gold; demands a place of eminence in the garden

Ornamental Features

Bihou Japanese Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its interesting and distinctive form. It has attractive forest green foliage with hints of chartreuse which emerges pink in spring. The serrated pointy palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding gold in the fall. The smooth yellow bark and coral-pink branches are extremely showy and add significant winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Bihou Japanese Maple is an open multi-stemmed deciduous tree with an indistinguished habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

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.

Bihou Japanese Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Bihou Japanese Maple will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet 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 80 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. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. 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.

Bihou 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.