Palmatum Group
Dwarf
'Beni
hime' is a great, very small maple that comes out a bright red in spring. After
the first big push on new grafts, which can be 4 to 6 inches long, 'Beni hime' becomes one of the slowest growing maples with
annual growth rarely exceeding 1-2 inches. As the weather gets hotter in summer
the older leaves turn dark green while the ever present new growth on the tips
tends to stay bright red, although it seems quite ironic that a tree that stays
so small should always have new growth. Beni
hime is one of the best small plants for the landscape but always seems to be
in short supply due to the fact that it can be difficult to propagate. Fall
color is especially nice for a dwarf.
