Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (Coral Bark Japanese Maple)

Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' is a Japanese maple cultivar noted for its showy fall foliage and the coral-pink bark for which it's named, as the cultivar name 'sango kaku' translates to 'coral tower,' a pair of features that make 'Sango Kaku' an incredible specimen tree and focal piece for the home garden. Growing to 20-25' tall and only 10-15' wide, this cultivar is among the larger end of the Japanese maples, and its towering stature only adds to its impressive beauty. In the spring, leaves emerge pinkish-yellow before deepening to light lime-green in the summer months and eventually yellow in the early fall.

As fall leaves mature and get ready to drop, the tree takes on its most striking effect with soft yellow and crimson leaves falling to the ground and slowly revealing more and more of the brilliant coral-pink and red shades of the outer bark, which only deepen with cooler weather. Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' grows best in moist, well-drained soils and part-shade, though it can also be grown in full-sun. This cultivar's wide-ranging tolerance of different soil textures types, as well as its resistance to herbivore browsing, only add to its landscape appeal and versatility.