Twombly’s Red Sentinel Japanese Maple

Acer palmatum ‘Twombly’s Red Sentinel’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-9b Find Your Zone

Height at Maturity: 10-12′

Width at Maturity: 3-4′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Narrow form

Growth Rate: Moderate

Foliage Color in Spring: Brilliant Crimson Red

Foliage Color in Summer: Burgundy

Foliage Color in Fall: Fiery Crimson Red

Light Needs: Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty (Condition heavy clay soils when planting)

Drainage: Well drained soil is a must!

Soil pH: 5.0 – 7.0 is ideal

Maintenance: Low

Resistances: Deer – more info, Heat Tolerant, Insect Resistant, Sun Tolerant

Description

With a statuesque, upright and columnar growth habit, the Twombly’s Red Sentinel Japanese Maple is sure to put an impressive exclamation point on your landscape. The color of this magnificent cultivar has Japanese written all over it. The leaves emerge a brilliant red in spring, contrasting wonderfully with the black branches and stems. The leaves then turn to burgundy in summer and end the season in fall a fiery, glowing crimson red. Growing only 3 to 4 feet wide with a height of only 10 to 12 feet makes it the perfect fit for smaller garden spaces and pots, planters and other containers.

Landscape & Garden Uses

To showcase its magnificence and beauty, Twombly’s Red Japanese Maple is best used in the landscape as a focal point specimen to draw attention to a specific area of the home or landscape. That said, you can plant them in groupings of three or two to frame an entryway.

Suggested Spacing: At least 8 feet apart for space between trees

Container culture can extend the useful range of Japanese Maples. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai. Click on the link below under Helpful Articles for Japanese Maple container planting instructions.

Note: One Japanese Maple can make a landscape…that is, if you don’t overcrowd it with other trees and plants. Therefore, when selecting companions to plant under or around your Japanese Maple, make sure to select low-growing shrubs or groundcovers that won’t interfere at all with your tree.

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a, where this Japanese Maple variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Though delicate looking, Japanese Maples are actually very tough and long-lived trees. They are very easy to grow. Container culture can extend their useful range. They are extremely easy to grow in containers, a practice taken to its most extreme form in the art of bonsai.

In their natural habitat, Japanese Maples are understory trees, growing in dappled forest sunlight at the edges of woodlands. Ideally they prefer to be grown in similar conditions. That said, you can find a complete listing of our sun-tolerant Japanese Maple varieties here, of which Twombley’s Red Sentinel is one.

Most any average garden soil will grow Japanese Maples. They prefer a moist but well-drained soil rich in organic matter. As with so many other ornamental plants and trees, constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic. So make sure to plant your Japanese Maple in a well-drained site.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Japanese Maple trees.

How To Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In The Ground

How to Plant A Japanese Maple Tree In A Pot

How To Fertilize And Water A Japanese Maple Tree

How To Prune A Japanese Maple

Plant Long & Prosper!

Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff

Questions? Contact Us!

I purchased one of these trees from another company online…Much, much smaller and it made it a year and died…I am very knowledgeable about anything growing outside…I am so, so pleased with the tree…Beautiful leaves and so healthy…It shows someone took care of it before me…Thank you so very, very much…Good Luck on your business…——————————–Yo’re very welcome! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Arrived quickly and in full bloom. What a gorgeous tree.————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Beautiful tree. Arrived without any damage. Thanks!———————————————-We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

My email was intended to let you know how great it gets at the end with Wilson. Once you grow the plant and let it go, it gets into the hands of shipping people. A few years ago I might see one package laying on the floor of the apartment building here in NYC once a week. Today, I journeyed home and climbed over at least 80 boxes in the lobby all thrown in large piles. It is crippling.
So, last year I switched my shipping address to the nearby UPS store and pay $1 per box. They are curbside in a large city and hold the goods, calling me when arrived.
You know how it goes, you get a dream, you see something and you start searching on the internet and then there is a line up and you think maybe the supplier which is closer is better.
Now let me share with you what happened before Wilson. I placed an order for trees before you with a company called FAST GROWING TREES on 10/24/20 for
1. Purple Wisteria $49.95
2. Bloomerang Lilac Shrub $24.95
3. Fugi Apple Tree five feet $89.95
4. Edible Bamboo plant $39.95
ships in 1 to 2 days, they said. Total $222.99 (no return address).
The shipment came in on 10/28/20 in a caved-in long box. Fast Growing Trees placed the Wisteria at one end and the Fugi tree at the other, both with the smaller Lilac and Bamboo in the center. All were smashed into each other with dirt all over the box. The bamboo was in a 2 inch pot, a dead leaf; the Bloomerang Lilac also in a 2 in pot was two leaves on a stick. The Wisteria was a small twig tied to a pole and the Fugi had been two feet tall and broken. Basically, I got a box of dirt.
Same nonsense with the shipment of Clematis from Hirts, tiny little dried up garbage.
Then came Wilson. I was really hesitant but you welcome access with email which was immediate and helpful. So I ventured forth again after bad experiences. Wilson has the marketing and the shipping down pat but then comes the incredible plant, which is what it is all about. What I like is the trees arrive as if I went to GA and picked them myself. That’s integrity.———————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

This lovely Maple arrived in great condition and 5′ tall! Always excellent plants from Wilson Brothers.——————————–Hi Mary, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Twombleys Red Sentinel Japanese Maple. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens

I received my plant in great shipping condition. After opening and discarding the box, I realized the plant I received is exactly what I would have picked out myself. My tree full and healthy. Wilson bros has a new forever customer!!!————————–WBG Reply: Hi Kelly, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Twombleys Red Sentinel Japanese Maple. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come!
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens