how big is your yard ..

and do you plan on doing any gardening under your tree???

ken

My back lawn is about 20' x 60'. There is a perimeter planting bed of about 6' width all around.

I don't plan on doing any gardening under the tree. Maybe some shade tolerant grass(es).

Might be okay, depending on how it looks under your environmental conditions. Maybe check the zoning for it in the Sunset Western Garden Book.

Municipalities up here prohibit it as a street tree, probably due to decay issues seen with older existing specimens.

Well, the California Native Plant Society lists them as native to my area, so I don't think it will do too badly in my area.

Sunset lists Big Leaf Maple as Zones 2-9, 14-24. I'm in Sunset Zone 15.

So, from both sources, I think I'm okay, as long as I give it the right conditions.

Forgot to add:

My main concern is if it will get too big, or if it will be smaller grown in my back yard vs the wild.

If you do supplemental watering and feed anything in those beds it just might grow larger than it would in the wild.

20x60 is not a large space especially with six feet of bed on each side- those roots will be headed straight to where the good stuff is.
I certainly would not do it in a space that small especially if I planned to live there the rest of my life.
However, if relocation is in your future all bets are off!

a tree.. is a tree ... and it will grow.. as its genetic dictate..

there is no reason it would grow smaller.. in a smaller yard ...

IMHO.. being an admitted maple hater.. because you cant garden under them ...

no maple .. other than a JMaple.. will fit in that landscape ... see link for potential.. and then think about all the refuse you will be dumping on the neighbors around you.. huge waves of pollen .. followed .. presumably on my part with billions of helicopters.. followed by tons of leave [unless it evergreen.. but even those will fall off sooner or later..]

lets be realistic.. this park tree.. does no belong in a 20 by 60 foot garden ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

It's not limited to Japanese maple, any of the many other small-growing species of maples fit better into non-acreage than the big-growing ones like bigleaf, Norway, sugar and silver.

If you like the look of A. macrophyllum there are smaller named varieties. I have A. m. 'Mocha Rose' which others have said on this forum is prone to mildew but I have never had a problem (of any kind) with it, perhaps because of our dry summers (I'm in Sonoma Co). As bboy notes above, there are lots of smaller maple species - check out A. campestre or A. pseudoplatanus, where you'll find some stunning varieties. I can grow all of the pseudoplatanus in full sun here; the campestre do better with some protection from afternoon shade. See if you can find a maple specialist nearby. If you don't mind trekking to Cotati, Pond and Garden has a great variety and the owner is very knowledgable. People visit him from all over the Bay Area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pond and Garden Nursery

Gosh yes, there are all sorts of maples out there for smaller spaces.

formandfoliage, where did you get your A. macrophyllum 'Mocha Rose'?

I've been looking for that cultivar, but haven't been able to find it. Seems possibly out of production.

"It's not limited to Japanese maple, any of the many other small-growing species of maples fit better into non-acreage than the big-growing ones like bigleaf, Norway, sugar and silver."

I actually already have 5 Japanese maples already. The reasons I was leaning towards a bigger maple was to a) maintain the 'look' and b) act as the 'overstory' tree for the Japanese maples.

Also, I thought 'Mocha Rose' was fairly dwarfed - I'm reading stats like 8 feet tall in 10 years.

"a tree.. is a tree ... and it will grow.. as its genetic dictate..
there is no reason it would grow smaller.. in a smaller yard ..."

The big difference would be water.

In the PNW, this tree grows in mixed evergreen forests in conditions that get much much more rainfall than we do.

In the SF Bay Area, this is mostly a riparian tree, and doesn't get nearly as big as it does in the PNW, probably due to differences in rainfall.

Mildew results from a combination of dry roots and damp (not wet) foliage. That's why it becomes conspicuous in summer, and likes the Pacific Coast with its summer droughts combined with fog.

My 'Mocha Rose' came from the nursery that I linked to above; Pond and Garden. We have a fairly consistent summer breeze from the coast, which may also mitigate the mildew, as the air generally has movement. It is supposedly a smaller one, but estimates vary from 8' in ten years to half the species size (which would be larger). The leaves are stunning. It is late to leaf out relative to my other maples - only the circinatums are later.