Acer palmatum 'Kamagata' Dwarf Japanese Maple

'Kamagata' is a slow-growing dwarf Japanese maple reaching approximately 6 feet tall over ten years, with small, sickle-shaped palmate leaves that emerge with a distinctive bright purple border before maturing to light green. The foliage transitions to red, yellow, and orange tones in autumn. This cultivar is exceptionally heat- and drought-tolerant once established, performing reliably even in south-facing exposures and at the warmest end of its hardiness range, making it well-suited to rock gardens, containers, and bonsai, as well as challenging landscape sites where other Japanese maples struggle. According to the growers at Mr Maple, 'Kamagata' was one of J.D. Vertrees's introductions, the pioneering author and authority on Japanese maples in North America, and the cultivar name references the leaf's resemblance to a sickle used for cutting grass.