ACER PALMATUM 'SANGO-KAKU'

A recent arrival to my garden is Acer palmatum Sango-Kaku, also known as the Coral-bark maple. I'm already hooked on Japanese maples (acers) but am limited with regard to numbers by the size of my garden which, at most, is 30ft by 30ft (and that's stretching it a bit), and already houses a garden room and a shed. As soon as I saw the red branches of Sango-Kaku (Sango) I had to have it, and yet it is not the smallest of acers. In the image below you can see the autumnal glorious colours and even when all the leaves are shed, there will still be that glorious bark! 

Acer palmatum Sango-Kaku - October 2025

In fact, it can, over time, achieve 8 metres if left to do as it pleases. It is of bushy habit and mine is going to be restricted in the way they restrict bonsai trees, by pruning. It is doable, I have seen it. My new arrival is already 3ft (90cm) tall and reaching for the stars. It needed repotting as it was already somewhat root bound. 

Like most Japanese maples, they don't like being subjected to strong wind although a great number of them are tolerant of sun. I mistakenly planted Acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' where I thought it was reasonably protected but every year its beautiful leaves get really bad wind scorch and it will have to be dug up and moved. Mine is a sunny garden with nowhere that will provide shade for a big plant all of the time but Sango will be okay. However, Sango is going to placed where it will receive shelter from the north-facing fence. 

I didn't want just any old pot for Sango, I wanted something that would protect its roots, after all, plants buried in the ground are more protected from the cold than those in pots, and I needed a pot that would withstand freezing cold, no cracking, no messing, no worrying. I found that pot with The Terracotta Pot Company, in Hull. They have such a fantastic choice, a 50 year guarantee on their pots and excellent customer service. I'm quite envious of those who can  accommodate a large pot and manage to move it around without hiring a fork lift truck (frost proof pots are denser and thus heavier). I was limited by weight and suitable size.  I bought the Monachou Fardipata Cretan Terracotta Planter, the smallest size at 25cm x 35cm. It will happily accommodate Sango for quite a few years, hopefully. With the pot I was also supplied with jumbo feet for it which will keep it off the ground and allow free drainage. 

Monachou Fardipata Cretan Terracotta Pot
from The Terracotta Pot Company

First though, although the Monachou pot is just what I wanted, it was still too big for young Sango and I decided to repot the acer in a little bit larger plastic pot, then immerse the pot in terracotta pot surrounded by a protection of mini bark - my choice is Melcourt Sylvabark Pine Bark Mini Mulch. Sango is fully hardy, rated plant zone H6 by the Royal Horticultural Society. You will find more information on Sango-Kaku there, showing how this particular Japanese maple's leaves change colour during the year. In summer its leaves are just green but that doesn't matter because at that time of year there is so much more going on in my garden. Sango's time to shine is in spring and autumn when the leaves are yellow and in  winter when its red bark will put on a show.