Emperor 1 Japanese Maple - 3rd Growing Season - Late Fall - October 2026
A few years back, after researching Japanese Maples , I ended up buying my first Emperor 1 Japanese Maple. Emperor 1 is similar to Bloodgood Japanese Maple in looks (dark leaf), but it seems it might be a bit more cold tolerant, so it works well in our Zone 6a/5b border garden. I bought the Emperor 1 and planted it back by the firepit . That was 2021. 2024 was one of those 17-year cicada years here in the suburbs of Chicago. That means that we were SWARMED by them. I did the best I could to try to protect some things with tulle, but they're aggressive and ended up killing off that Emperor 1 . It was pretty good sized at the time. Before it was lost, I came across a second one. Smaller. From a Big Box nursery. In May of 2023, I planted it in the front edge of the [kitchen curved] bed in our backyard . It was a bit taller than knee-high, but not quite up to my waist. By August that first year (August 2023), the tree had put...