Mendocino Sunrise

After 7 years of careful scrutiny, we are happy to introduce to you a unique and beautiful new Japanese Maple – Mendocino Sunrise. Mendocino Sunrise arose as a sport on Acer palmatum Summer Gold.

This attractive Japanese maple cultivar has small, yellow, palmate leaves which are quite distinctive. The leaves are mainly 5-lobed with narrow ovate, deeply divided lobes with somewhat elongated tips approximately 3-4 cm in length, and relatively coarse, irregularly toothed or somewhat frilled margins. Mendocino Sunrise has newly emerging leaves which are yellow sometimes edged with red. By summer some of the red fades leaving a yellow color with an orange blush to the leaves. In the direct hot summer sun, the yellow color lightens and the orange blush becomes more prominent. Mendocino Sunrise is an upright rather dense small tree growing to about 8 feet in about 8 yrs.

Outstanding Features: Emerges in spring with tinges of red on yellow leaves. Ruffle edges on leaves. Nice yellow-orange color in summer. Hardy strong growing maple. Mendocino Sunrise is suitable for small or large gardens, landscape planting, patio, container, and bonsai.

Cultural needs: Hardy and strong growing, suitable for warm sunny locations – but will burn in severe hot weather and windy locations.

This new cultivar Mendocino Sunrise was accepted by the I.C.R.A. (International Cultivar Registration Authority) for Maples in May 2016.