Koto No Ito Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum ‘Koto No Ito’
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-9 Find Your Zone
Height at Maturity: 12-15′
Width at Maturity: 8-10′
Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Arching, Broad
Growth Rate: Moderate
Foliage Color in Spring: Bright Lime Green
Foliage Color in Summer: Lime Green
Foliage Color in Fall: Bright Golden-Yellow with Orange and Red overtones
Light Needs: Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun
Water Needs: Average, moderately drought tolerant when established
Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty (Condition heavy clay soils when planting)
Drainage: Well drained soil is a must!
Soil pH: 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal
Maintenance: Low
Resistances: Deer, Heat Tolerant, Insect Resistant, Sun Tolerant
Special Attributes
Koto No Ito is a medium size thread leaf Japanese Maple adored for its fine, long and thin leaves that provide a beautiful soft texture in the garden. The leaves emerge extremely thread-like in spring in a lime-green shade turning to medium green by summer and then golden to orange shades with the arrival of cooler temperatures in fall. When the leaves drop for winter the beautiful bright green bark is exposed providing wonderful winter interest in the landscape. Koto No Ito tolerates heat and sun exposure and will perform well as far south as USDA Zone 9.
Landscape & Garden Uses
To showcase its magnificence and beauty, a Japanese Maple is best used in the landscape as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. That said, you can plant them in groupings of three or plant one on both sides of an entryway.
Suggested Spacing: At least 12′ for space between trees
Container culture can extend the useful range of Japanese Maples. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai. Click on the link below under Helpful Articles for Japanese Maple container planting instructions.
Note: One Japanese Maple can make a landscape…that is, if you don’t overcrowd it with other trees and plants. Therefore, when choosing companions to plant under or around your Japanese Maple, make sure to select low-growing shrubs or groundcovers that won’t interfere at all with your tree.
Cultural Preferences
Though delicate looking, Japanese Maples are actually very tough and long-lived trees. They are very easy to grow in the ground or in containers.
In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally they prefer to be grown in similar conditions. That said, there are many sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties, of which Koto No Ito is one.
Most any average garden soil will grow Japanese Maples. They prefer a moist but well-drained soil rich in organic matter. As with so many other ornamental plants and trees, constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic. So make sure to plant your Japanese Maple in a well-drained site.
Helpful Articles
Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Japanese Maple trees.
How To Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In The Ground
How to Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In A Pot
How To Fertilize And Water A Japanese Maple Tree
How To Prune A Japanese Maple
Plant Long & Propser!
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