How to Grow ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese Maples

Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’

One of the most iconic Japanese maple cultivars is the colorful, beautiful ‘Bloodgood.’

You can’t overstate the impact of this cultivar. It’s the Japanese maple that made Americans fall in love with the species, and it’s often the first type that comes to mind when you picture a Japanese maple.

If you find a generic red Japanese maple at the store, chances are good it’s an unlabeled ‘Bloodgood.’

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The leaves emerge bright purple red in the spring, take on a deep burgundy hue all summer, before changing to fiery red in the fall.

Though they lack leaves in the winter, the naturally open, rounded canopy provides its own interest.

Excited to try this perennial favorite in your garden? I get it! It was the gateway to my Japanese maple addiction, too.

We’re going to cover all you want to know about growing this cultivar in this guide. Here’s what’s on the menu:

Cultivation and History

If you assumed that the name ‘Bloodgood’ comes from the blood-red color of the foliage, you wouldn’t be the first, nor will you be the last. It doesn’t, though.

This cultivar is named after the Bloodgood Nursery in Long Island, New York where it was bred.

The history of how ‘Bloodgood’ came to be isn’t totally clear. We know for sure that it was bred by Bloodgood Nursery, which was founded in 1793, and it was introduced to market shortly after the Civil War.

If you know your Japanese history, you’ll remember that Japan wasn’t openly trading with the West during that period, so there’s some question about how the original parent specimen or specimens that found their way to New York.

They may have come via the Netherlands from Nagasaki, Japan, which had the single open trading port in the country during that period.

To be clear, not every ‘Bloodgood’ on the market today is a direct descendent of the original New York tree or trees. Many are strains or clones of trees in the Atropurpureum group.

In other words, Bloodgood can be a generic name for a specimen that looks like the original. If you’d like to know more about the different groupings of Japanese maples, read our guide.

True ‘Bloodgood’ trees are hardy in Zones 5b to 8b, and have a neat, rounded canopy on a plant that grows about 20 feet tall and wide.

The red or purple leaves have serrated margins and a palmate shape, each with seven lobes. In the fall, they turn bright red. In hot regions, the foliage will turn bronze or take on a green hue.

In the fall, when the leaves turn a brighter red, they lose any summer bronzing that might have developed.

‘Bloodgood’ Japanese Maple Propagation

You can try to propagate ‘Bloodgood’ from seed, but the resulting tree might not be anything like the parent.

If you want to be sure of what you’re growing, you’ll want to use grafting or cuttings, both methods produce a clone of the parent plant.

Taking cuttings involves removing a length of stem and planting it in soil to encourage it to form roots. Our guide to growing Japanese maples covers all the details about how to take and plant cuttings.

Grafting is the go-to propagation method for many Japanese maple lovers. It’s reliable and works well with these trees.

You will combine the scion, or top part, with the rootstock, the bottom part that includes the roots. Learn about the whole process of grafting Japanese maples in our guide.

The easiest way to get started is to purchase a specimen from a nursery or big box store and transplant it into the garden.

Dig a large hole, at least twice as wide as the root ball, and ensure the plant is sitting at the same level it was in its growing container.

How to Grow ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese Maples

Plant in full sun or a bit of afternoon shade. Many red Japanese maples lose their bright coloration in full sun. ‘Bloodgood’ generally doesn’t, though it can bronze a bit.

The good news is that if you live in a hot climate, it’s perfectly fine in partial sun. Give it a spot with a little shade protection in the hottest of the afternoon heat, and you can avoid any bronzing.

In the southern end of its hardiness range, the leaves might turn green during the heat of the summer. This is nothing to worry about and there isn’t much you can do beyond providing some afternoon shade and waiting for the fall colors to arrive.

In the spring, red-winged fruits hang from the tree and can last until the summer. These will gently spin to the ground. There aren’t a ton of them and they are fairly small, so they aren’t as noticeable or annoying as other maple samaras, as they’re called.

Though they prefer loose, loamy soil, with a pH of 6.0 and 7.0, these trees can grow in clay so long as the ground is sloped so the excess moisture can run off. Well-draining soil is non-negotiable for the health of these trees.

In addition to taking care not to overwater, you also need to make sure that they don’t get too thirsty.

You want to find a happy medium where the roots are able to just dry out, which encourages them to stretch and grow outwards. But don’t let the roots stay dry for too long, as this causes stress.

Water when the top two or three inches of soil are dry to the touch. Specimens growing in full sun in hot regions will likely need more water than those in cooler areas.

Young trees should be watered a bit more frequently so that the soil a few inches down doesn’t dry entirely.

Almost any Japanese maple can be grown in a container, but some are better suited to this than others. ‘Bloodgood’ can grow very large so it will take a little extra work to keep the tree contained, meaning you’ll need to remove it from the pot and trim the roots regularly.

We have a whole guide to growing Japanese maples in containers if you’d like to give it a go.

Speaking of, if you want to take things one step further and grow yours as a bonsai, we have a guide for that, too. ‘Bloodgood’ is a popular option for gardeners just starting out in the world of bonsai, both because it’s readily available and it has a nice form and color.

Don’t fertilize your plant in the first year after planting and if you propagated it via a stem cutting, make that two years.

From the second year onwards, feed in the early spring with compost, humus, or a slow-release fertilizer. Learn more about how to fertilize Japanese maples in our guide.

I’m a fan of John & Bob’s Nourish slow-release fertilizer. It’s made from vegetable matter, with an NPK ratio of 6-1-1. It’s high in nitrogen, which is what many soils lack and trees need in abundance.

John & Bob’s Nourish

You can pick up John & Bob’s Nourish in a variety of package sizes at Arbico Organics.

Of course, you should test your soil before diving into a fertilizer routine. Your soil may have excess nitrogen and be completely devoid of phosphorus or other nutrients, in which case, you’d need a totally different fertilizer.

Growing Tips

• Plant in full sun or afternoon shade in hot areas.
• Choose an area with well-draining soil.
• Allow the top three inches of soil to dry out between watering.

Pruning and Maintenance

‘Bloodgood’ doesn’t need any special pruning beyond what is typical of Japanese maples. You can learn more about pruning Japanese maples in our guide.

Generally, you should prune off broken, diseased, or deformed branches any time you see them. Otherwise, shaping and maintenance pruning should be done in the winter.

If you want to provide shape, you will need to work to open up the crown and make the shape look appealing.

It can take ten years or more for the tree to mature, so it could be a long time before you need to do much in the way of pruning.

But once mature, you might want to prune out some of the lower branches to give it a more classic “tree-like” shape and to show off the shape and texture of the trunk.

If you’d like to maintain that natural globose canopy shape that many people specifically choose this cultivar for, don’t trim out the lower branches. Just focus on removing anything that detracts from the round shape.

Be sure to remove any branches that have a tight crotch causing the bark of the branch to embed itself in the trunk. These embedded branches will eventually cause splitting in the trunk.

Use caution when mowing around the trees because damage to the base can lead to diseases and might even kill a tree.

Where to Buy

A better question would be, where can’t you buy this tree?

Pretty much any nursery or big box store is probably going to carry one of these, or at least one labeled ‘Bloodgood’ with extremely similar characteristics to the true cultivar.

‘Bloodgood’

The fine folks at Maple Ridge Nursery have a stellar reputation and you can be sure you’re getting the true cultivar.

They carry ‘Bloodgood’ in one or three-gallon options for shipping, and if you live close enough to their location in Gay, Georgia, you can pick up a seven- or 15-gallon option. Tell them we sent you.

Planting Tree offers this cultivar up in a range of different heights.

If you’d prefer a sprinter pot, which is just under a quart, with a single stem specimen, Nature Hills Nursery carries that size.

Managing Pests and Disease

‘Bloodgood’ isn’t especially resistant to any of the common Japanese maple pests or diseases.

All Japanese maples are attacked by aphids, various beetles, caterpillars, mealybugs, and scale insects.

For the most part, the damage they cause is largely cosmetic, but a young tree can be seriously stunted or damaged.

But some beetles can chew into the wood, causing serious damage. To learn more about Japanese maple pests and how to deal with them, check out our guide.

When it comes to diseases, there are quite a few that can be a problem. Everything from the dreaded anthracnose and leaf spot to powdery mildew and verticillium wilt can take down a tree.

Learn more about all of these and a few other challenges in our guide to Japanese maple diseases.

Best Uses for ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese Maples

‘Bloodgood’ is unparalleled as a specimen planting. It acts as a highlight and a focal point to any garden, whether it’s Japanese style or an English cottage garden. It’s a popular choice for bonsai, as well.

It works in borders, in containers, or trained as standards. ‘Bloodgood’ is perfect next to walkways, decks and patios because the roots aren’t pushy, it doesn’t make a big mess, and it offers shade.

Japanese maples make marvelous companions, and ‘Bloodgood,’ with its reliably ruddy foliage, is especially so.

Pair it with something green like arborvitae (Thuja spp.), juniper (Juniperus spp.), ferns, or Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii).

Or you could put it next to something that will pop, like dogwood (Cornus spp.), snowbells (Styrax japonicus), or peonies (Paeonia spp.).

Check out our guide for more information about companion planting with Japanese maples.