'Crimson Queen'
Weeping Red Laceleaf;
or, Cutleaf or Threadleaf
Japanese Maple
"The autumn air sweeps faint & chill
Across the maple-crested hill."
-Margaret Junkin Preston
(1820-1897)
(1820-1897)
Beginning in the mid-1960s Acer palmatum variant dissectum forma atropurpureum 'Crimson Queen' was by many regarded the best dissectum or laceleaf Japanese maple until 'Red Dragon' began to displace it to large extent in public sentiment, because 'Red Dragon' remains redder through summer.
While 'Red Dragon' is also a semi-dwarf weeper, 'Crimson Queen' is a heavily cascading weeper that forms a more nearly perfect dome, & if grown near a ledge are large raised bed can even droop downward lower than its root-crown. Without a ledge to extend itself downward, it will need almost annual pruning to shorten limbs that will otherwise press into the ground.
A young specimen can be staked for more upward growth, as otherwise it strongly desires to turn itself downward. It is also sometimes grown with a multi-stem form as a giant shrub, though two SinLur Gardens specimens are of classic low-graft single-trunked dome-shaped weepers.It is generally encountered in the four to six foot range of height, & ten feet wide. It will require artful, restrained pruning & training to certainly grow no larger.
The specimen shown on this page was planted a few years ago by a previous owner of the house & gardens, & he made the mistake of taking seriously 'Crimson Queen's' common designation "dwarf." It is only dwarf compared to Japanese maples that can reach twenty-five feet.
It fit in the patio's six-foot semi-circle cut-out just fine when first planted as a young specimen. It now needs annual or twice-annual pruning to keep it from spreading over the entire patio. If the pruning is done properly, 'Crimson Queen' is sufficiently trainable that this specimen can be kept suitable for the space it is in, though there is always a risk of an inelegant cut spoiling its beauty.There are weeping cultivars that would have remained small enough for the space without so much attention to its training, but it's too late to select properly now, & very likely persistent training will keep it from having someday to be sacrificed.
The lacy, finely cut foliage emerges purple-red in April, soon aging to burgundy. The first photo above shows it in April (2005). If protected in dappled sunlight or bright shade it might hold the burgundy color throughout of summer, then turn bright crimson for autumn, as shown in the third photo from November. In a more exposed area, it will turn green by high summer, with burgundy remaining only at the leaf edges, as shown in the second photo, from August.
If 'Crimson Queen' is situated in too much sun it will have a tendency to leaf-scorch at high summer, spoiling the perfection of its color.
One of the goals of breeding purple maples is to get strains that will remain purple throughout summer, but there is nothing wrong with the two-tone summer leaves. The manner by which 'Crimson Queen' marks the seasons -- purple for spring, bicolor for summer, bright red for autumn, then revealing its limb structure for winter -- makes it an all-season delight.
Spring's bright red flowers occur about the same time the leaves are beginning. They are much too small to have a showy effect & are instantly lost in the bursting foliage, but are exciting to observe in close. They develop with extreme rapidity into small samaras or winged seeds, which take until autumn to ripen. Propagation, however, is almost exclusively from grafted cuttings. It can be grown from seed, but variation is so broad that the resulting tree could not be considered 'Crimson Queen.'