They look like most other Asian maples in winter but lack some of the more sculptural qualities of the palmatums. They typically develop very good fall color and do drop their leaves just as do the other Asian maples.

Acer pseudosieoldianum in winter.

You could look for a Acer palmatum x A. pseudosieboldianum hybrid, which is supposed to have the hardiness of Korean Maple with the form of Japanese. This is 'North Wind', which I picked up today. I think the straight Korean Maple benefits greatly from some judicious pruning early on.

Well the ones I saw at a local nursery had some unjudicious pruning in my opinion. Long single trunks on all of them. I've seen some North Wind maples around. That may be what I'll go with, if they aren't too pricey.

North Wind is gorgeous, one of my favorites. It has a more open, pagoda-like form compared to some of the other hybrids.

Before you pick North Wind, you may want to look at the other hybrids in the Iseli "Jack Frost" line. All of them are okay even in zone 4. There is also the cultivar Northern Glow, which has a slightly lighter color green leaf and is very pretty. It is also very hardy.

I notice you're in zone 5b, though. Is there a reason you're avoiding Japanese maples? I'm in 5b and I'm growing dozens of them. If you're nervous about cold, you could always look into Acer japonicum or Acer shirasawanum cultivars, which do better in these more northern climates. You have dozens of beautiful Japanese maples to choose from!

North Wind final fall color-- it goes through stages of lime green, purples and pinks, then this flaming red-orange. It's one of the most spectacular color displays I've seen on a JM.

WOW. That is a beautiful JM! I might have to add that to my collection. I'm very fond of the Japonicums because of their incredible colors, but that's a good one!

The reason, magpiepix, is that the spot where I want to plant this tree is most likely too sunny for a Japanese maple, and I've been led to believe that Korean maples are more sun-tolerant. In fact, having reassessed the situation yesterday, I'm pretty sure it's got too much afternoon sun for either tree. That spot is getting sun from 11AM to 7PM now, and that will only get longer as the tree grows. One positive thing is that my garage will provide some shade from winter sunlight. I already have a red acer palmatum and my space is very limited, so I would like a green-leafed tree in this spot. The other reason is bang-for-the-buck. I can get a 10-foot Korean Maple for $140. A North Wind will run me $160 for a 5-foot tree, which is fairly cheap for a JM around here.

Most of my JMs are in full sun, and they're doing fine. Full sun up north is different than full sun down south. If you want a green-leafed one that's more cold tolerant than an Acer palmatum, check out Moonrise. Not great fall color, but extraordinary spring and summer color.

Thank you magpiepix, you have given me some hope. I think I will contact Davidsan's nursery in Illinois and ask them for some help picking a good maple for my sunny spot.

Happy to help. You may also want to call Diana at Topiary Gardens-- she has many field grown JMs, and she's in 5a/5b. She can give you a very accurate idea of what does well for her in full, or a lot, of sun. She was incredibly helpful when I was learning about what would thrive in my area.

Carl Munn, the developer of Moonrise, just shared some gorgeous shots of his nursery-- including hundreds of his cultivars growing in full sun in zone 7. You don't need to worry so much about putting these beauties in full sun. They love it.

Please let me know what you hear from Davidsan's-- I'd be curious to know his opinion.

I sent Davidsan's a message using their website and I never heard back from them. Anyhoo, the search is over. I found a nice 6 foot acer griseum at a nearby nursery that hasn't been lollipopped. A more foolproof tree I am told, but still quite rare and exotic in my neck of the woods.