Red maple tree? - Ask Extension
We have had this tree growing in our front flower bed for a few years. We did not plant it there - it grew there on it's own. Every fall, I cut it b...
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Red maple tree? #929136
Asked April 21, 2026, 4:07 PM EDT
We have had this tree growing in our front flower bed for a few years. We did not plant it there - it grew there on it's own. Every fall, I cut it back and we would like to plant it in the yard but we really don't have room for it. I want to confirm that it is a red maple & what kind, if possible, how high, wide they get, etc. If we can't use it, would like to give it to someone who wants it. There are also 2 more very small ones growing in the side yard.
Can you give me more info about this tree so we know what to do with it?
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
This is a Japanese Maple (botanical name Acer palmatum), a non-native species that has started to act invasively in some areas, spreading into woodlands from seed. It sounds like this is a seedling too, perhaps from a tree somewhere in the neighborhood (they are very widely planted). There are hundreds of Japanese Maple cultivars, many of them red/purple-leaved, so we can't tell which one this may be and therefore can't say how large it would tend to grow. At the upper end, they might be 20+ feet tall at maturity, though slower-paced dwarf varieties stay much shorter. Given t hat you've pruned it several times given its young age, it doesn't sound like it has dwarf genetics, so may get at least 15 feet tall or more.
Our native Red Maple (Acer rubrum) is a much larger-maturing tree and it doesn't have red foliage except in autumn. (Even then, it's normal for some Red Maples to turn yellowish or orange instead of red.) The leaf shape is also different in Red Maple; Japanese Maples have more pronounced leaf lobes that give them a more starfish-like shape or palmate shape (like fingers coming off of a palm).
Since this species can be invasive in our area, you may want to remove it and not transplant it to another location. It may not be old enough yet to flower and produce seeds, but if it matures, it could contribute to the spread of this species in woods that displace native plants.
Miri
Our native Red Maple (Acer rubrum) is a much larger-maturing tree and it doesn't have red foliage except in autumn. (Even then, it's normal for some Red Maples to turn yellowish or orange instead of red.) The leaf shape is also different in Red Maple; Japanese Maples have more pronounced leaf lobes that give them a more starfish-like shape or palmate shape (like fingers coming off of a palm).
Since this species can be invasive in our area, you may want to remove it and not transplant it to another location. It may not be old enough yet to flower and produce seeds, but if it matures, it could contribute to the spread of this species in woods that displace native plants.
Miri
Thanks for the info, Miri. It will certainly help us in the decision process. It is a pretty tree but since it's also invasive, that will make the decision easier.
Kathy Watkins
You're welcome.
