Acer palmatum 'Shishigashira'
Suited for courtyards, smaller-scale gardens, large containers and projects where striking texture and a controlled growth habit are wanted.
The dark-green foliage, densely crinkled and overlapping along the branches, gives it a very distinctive, almost sculptural texture. It grows slowly, keeping a compact, columnar canopy, and takes on golden to orange tones in autumn. It prefers full sun to part shade and fertile, well-drained soil with regular watering.
Its slow growth — typically 1.5 to 3 metres in height after several years — makes it one of the best Acer palmatum cultivars for small gardens, terraces and large containers, where its reduced scale is an advantage rather than a limitation.
The name 'Shishigashira' (lion's head, in Japanese) refers precisely to the dense, wavy texture of the foliage, which clearly sets it apart from more common Acer palmatum cultivars.
