Acer palmatum x shirasawanum ‘Trompenburg' Japanese Maple

'Trompenburg' is a vigorous, upright Japanese maple with distinctively cupped and recurved leaflets that create a sharp, claw-like silhouette and distinctive texture in the landscape. Foliage emerges pinkish-red in early spring, deepening to dark burgundy or maroon through early summer before fading slightly in heat; fall color shifts to scarlet and orangey-red tones. The cultivar grows rapidly, typically one to one-and-a-half feet per year, reaching 20-25 feet tall with a spreading, vase-shaped form. According to the growers at Mr Maple, 'Trompenburg' originated as a seedling found beneath *Acer shirasawanum* at Kalmut Arboretum and later gifted to Arboretum Trompenburg in the Netherlands, making it one of the earliest widely traded hybrids between *shirasawanum* and *palmatum*; the cupped foliage may flatten somewhat in full sun or with heavy fertilization, but older growth retains pronounced cupping. This cultivar performs well in zones 5-9 and makes an excellent shade tree for other maples in warmer regions.