Maples are the trees and large shrubs of the genus Acer, grown above all for the incomparable color they set loose on the fall garden. The genus is remarkably broad: fast, spreading shade trees at one end and, at the other, the refined, slow-growing Japanese maples, with their lacy leaves, layered branching, and jewel-like autumn tones. Between them, maples cover almost every size and role a garden could ask of a deciduous tree.

In the landscape maples work at every scale. A large maple throws generous summer shade and then blazes red, orange, or gold in fall; a Japanese maple is a living sculpture for a courtyard, a container, or a shaded corner, valued as much for form and fine leaf as for color. Sited where the low autumn light can pass through the canopy, a maple becomes the season's centerpiece.

We grow maples for that unmatched fall display and for the structure and shade they give the rest of the year. From a single specimen that turns a garden gold each October to the quiet, year-round elegance of a Japanese maple's branching, few trees give so much ornamental value. Several are also natives, tough and well suited to the regional garden.

Give the large kinds room and sun, and the Japanese maples shelter from harsh afternoon sun and drying wind, in rich, well-drained soil. Find the wider framework in our Canopy Trees, cool companions in our Ferns and Shade Lovers, and regional kin in our Southeastern Natives.