Maple
Nakakamado Weeping
Acer palmatum
An incredibly rare, historic, and majestic weeping Japanese Maple. Distinct from typical weeping dissectums, 'Nakakamado Weeping' possesses broad, standard 5-lobed star-shaped palmate leaves. The branches exhibit an exceptionally unique growth pattern—twisting, curving, and swooping downward with great structural energy. The foliage emerges a clean, soft emerald green in spring, remains rich green throughout summer heat, and transitions to a striking, uniform autumn canopy of golden-yellow and bright, glowing neon orange.
Growing Specifications
- Height
- 5-6 feet (At 10 years, highly dependent on juvenile staking height)
- Spread
- 6-7 feet
- Watering
- Moderate; prefers uniform root hydration and avoids stagnant water profiles
- Light
- Morning sun, afternoon shade
- Heat Tolerance
- Good once established with robust understock
- Growth Rate
- Slow to Moderate (Vigorous for a pendulous type, filling out laterally)
- Soil Requirement
- Porous, loose, rich in organic matter, sharply well-draining, slightly acidic
North Texas Micro-climate Notes
Expert Curated Selection. This ancient variety is built to withstand high heat remarkably well if its root system remains insulated. In North Texas, ensure it is protected from brutal, drying 3 PM southwest winds to safeguard the wide lobes from edge-singe. Providing an overhead high canopy shelter blocks the harshest solar exposure while maintaining excellent ambient airflow. Mulch heavily to keep soil temperatures consistent.
History & Lineage
- INTRODUCED BY
- U.S. National Arboretum Quarantine Release (2011 Import Lineage)
- HISTORY
- Propagated via scion wood taken directly from the ancient, world-famous 'Nakakamado Maple' located in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan—a multi-centennial tree designated as an official national Natural Monument of Japan. A single specimen was purchased at the 2008 International Maple Symposium in Japan, brought into the United States through strict National Arboretum quarantine channels, and subsequently shared among specialized collectors. It is officially registered on global cultivar lists under the synonym 'Treasure'.
Care Instructions
Must be planted slightly above grade in a highly porous, aggregate-heavy soil blend to allow oxygen diffusion. Stake a dominant vertical leader early on if you wish to build a taller cascading clearance canopy. Water slowly and deeply at the baseline flare during severe summer heatwaves.
Landscape Usage
Superb when positioned atop a prominent landscape berm, allowed to cascade dramatically over heavy natural boulders, or displayed as an asymmetric structural focal point in a high-end Japandi courtyard garden layout.
Fun Fact
This cultivar is a broadleaf weeper, a growth form shared by very few varieties like 'Ryusei' or 'Jiro shidare'. Left completely unstaked as a juvenile, it will cascade into an organic, creeping ground cushion; if staked upwards early on, it will form a striking umbrella structure that reveals massive exposed root knuckles over time.
Awards
Formally recognized across international botanical syndicates as a living piece of cultural legacy and heirloom provenance
