The Osakazuki Japanese Maple, otherwise known as the Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ or Japanese Maple ‘Osakazuki’, Acer palmatum (Elegans Group) ‘Osakazuki’, Acer palmatum (Heptalobum Group) ‘Osakazuki’, Acer palmatum ‘Taihai’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Osakazuki Japanese Maple is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Osakazuki Japanese Maple Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Osakazuki Japanese Maple are the following:
- Water: The Osakazuki Japanese Maple prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Osakazuki Japanese Maple in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Osakazuki Japanese Maple is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple belongs to the Sapindaceae family, the genus Acer and the species Palmatum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ (AY-ser pal-MA-tum).
Other common Sapindaceae species include Aesculus Parviflora, Downy Japanese Maple ‘Aconitifolium’, Paperbark Maple, Acer Palmatum ‘Seiryu’, Acer Palmatum, Acer Shirasawanum ‘Autumn Moon’, Red Horse Chestnut ‘Briotii’, Crimson King Norway Maple and Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16769.
As with other Acer’s, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ is native to Korea, Japan and China.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Osakazuki Japanese Maple. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 2 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Osakazuki Japanese Maple? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ can grow up to 15′ – 25′ (4.5m – 7.5m) in 15′ – 25′ (4.5m – 7.5m) and 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m) in 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Watering
In terms of watering, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple is a fairly simple plant to take care of. This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Osakazuki Japanese Maple in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Osakazuki Japanese Maple is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Osakazuki Japanese Maple requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ in from little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy), to full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes. But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Foliage
The Osakazuki Japanese Maple leaves have a beautiful green, orange and pink color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with the opposite organization in its leaves. You can expect the leaves from your Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Osakazuki Japanese Maple is well known for its tolerance to animals like rabbit, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Osakazuki Japanese Maple? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most asian/zen and contemporary gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of japanese garden, city and courtyard, informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Osakazuki Japanese Maple’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a urban garden, firescaping/fire wise, specimen, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Osakazuki Japanese Maple’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Azalea, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Hosta will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Osakazuki Japanese Maple to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
