Floating Cloud Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum ‘Ukigumo’
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-8a  Find Your Zone
Height at Maturity:Â 10-15′
Width at Maturity:Â 8-10′
Growth Habit / Form:Â Upright, vase shape
Growth Rate:Â Slow to Moderate
Foliage Color in Spring: Â White, Green, Pink
Foliage Color in Summer:Â Â White, Cream and Green
Foliage Color in Fall:Â Â Golden-Yellow Shades with Red flecks
Light Needs:Â Morning Sun with Afternoon Shade or Mostly Shade
Water Needs:Â Â Average
Soil Type:Â Â Sandy, Loam & Clay (Condition heavy clay soils when planting)
Drainage:Â Moist But Well Drained – Well drained soil is a must!
Soil pH:Â 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal
Maintenance: Â Low
Resistances:Â Deer –Â more info, Heat Tolerant, Shade
Description
A showpiece and conversation piece in the landscape, ‘Ukigumo’, commonly known as the Floating Japanese Maple, is one of the most intensely white-variegated upright Japanese Maples in spring and is perfect to showcase a shady spot in the landscape. From a distance, the small green, white and pink variegated leaves appear nearly all white and have an ethereal effect. Leaves turn a golden-yellow often splashed with red flecks in fall to gold in fall. All grown up Floating Cloud might reach 10 to 15 feet tall by 8 to 10 feet wide, which makes it a fine candidate for both containers and garden beds.Â
Please Note:  The leaves of a young Floating Cloud Japanese Maple tree you receive from us will display more green leaves than variegated. In the years to come, when your tree acclimates and has settled down in its new home, it will display the standard white and pink variegation. It is well worth the wait!
Also Note:Â Though the Floating Cloud Japanese maple will grow in the deep South (USDA Zones 8a-9a) however the heat seems to keep the variegation permanently away. Therefore, we think it is not a good selection for the deep South.
Landscape & Garden Uses
To showcase its magnificence and beauty, the Floating Cloud 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, in larger landscape spaces groupings of three are spectacular. Too, one can be planted on both sides of an entryway to accentuate and frame the entrance.
Suggested Spacing:Â At least 14 feet apart for space between trees
Note:Â Â One Japanese Maple can make a landscape…that is, if you don’t overcrowd it with other trees and plants. Therefore, when selecting 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.Â
Note:Â For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Japanese Maple variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.
Growing Preferences
Though delicate looking, Japanese Maples are very easy to grow and long-lived trees. Container culture can extend their useful range, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai. How to Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In A Pot
In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally the Floating Cloud Japanese Maple prefers to be grown in similar conditions. Avoid direct afternoon sun on this variety. Filtered sun during the afternoon is okay.
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 get 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 & Prosper!
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I have been anxiously waiting for this product for several years so I snapped it up when it became available even though getting close to end of planting season in MA. The tree arrived in good condition as have all my plants from Wilson Bros. It quickly went dormant. As expected the leaves were green since the tree is young. I’m looking forward to this becoming quite the specimen in a few years and would have preferred to rate this product when I can actually recommend it.———————————————————–Keep us posted! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the awesome review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
Very satisfied with the purchased tree. Quick delivered, Well packaging, Healthy tree and the right size with the right price. Will do more business in the future.———————————————–We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and great review! Beth | WBG 🙂
I have ordered many plants over the past year as we’ve built our lockdown gardens around our property. Many shrubs, perennials, and Japanese maples. I had been on the waiting list for the Okigumo Floating Cloud Japanese Maple. Finally, when it became available, I ordered it immediately. I was not disappointed! It arrived in perfect shape, much larger than I had expected since I had figured it was a young tree. I planted it within a week of arrival, and I cannot adequately express how impressively it grew, just within days. An abundance of leaves sprouted and unfurled quickly, it easily survived our spring hard freeze (middle TN area) and is still growing like gangbusters. The variegated foliage is showing up along with the bright spring green leaves. I am SO EXCITED about this tree. All of the Japanese Maples I’ve ordered from Wilson Bros. have been excellent, but this one is particularly outstanding. WOW, thank you, Wilson Bros.!—————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I was really pleased at how big and well developed this tree was at arrival and it has continued to thrive and will be a show piece in my garden.——————————— We are so glad you are pleased! Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG
The Japanese maple- Ukigumo, was very well packed and when I opened the box I was surprised to find a tree even larger than the 6 for box- nicely packed it unfurled to be about 7 feet tall- Plant is healthy and substantial- delivery was great and on time- excellent customer service and high plant quality ——————–Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG























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