I find the fall color of acer japonicum weepers to be particularly beautiful. If you are unfamiliar with it, acer japonicum is a species very similar to acer palmatum, which is the more common species of Japanese maple. Japonicums are known for their bright multicolored fall display of yellows, oranges, and reds, and like palmatums there are different tree sizes and shapes, and different leaf sizes and shapes. AJ 'fairy lights' is one I plan to purchase very soon. Other weeping laceleaf japonicums are 'green cascade', 'ao jutan', and 'Abby's weeping'

Thank you for commenting. Is acer japonicum shade tolerant?

Yes - just as much so as any of the palmatums. But be sure you check out the stats on any cultivar before you buy. Some of these guys get a lot wider than you would expect and that is not a very large area for planting. And you don't want to do a lot of pruning to keep inbounds as that typically affects appearance and habit and not pleasingly.

I had to give away my 'Green Cascade' simply because it got far too wide for the location.

Yes they will do fine in shade. 'Fairy Lights' is known as a very slow grower, and more upright than the others I listed. It's great for a tight space, which is what I need it for. It may be smaller than what you would like, however. Acer palmatum 'Dr. Brown' has a fall color similar to japonicums, and it is also reportedly a slow grower. It has a unique pink/brown color in spring.

http://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/acer-palmatum-dr-brown.63159/

Than you Garden gal and Mens Tortuosa for. Viridis can grow 8-10 feet tall n 8 feet wide. It is pretty big and will outgrow my space, so now I have given up the idea of growing it. My space can accommodate up to 5ft tall and 5ft wide tree. I really like the shape of weeping Japanese maple that can give spectacular fall color to bringhten up my dark and drab front portch. Dr. Brown looks a good candidate. Viridis is more shade tolerant for it can grow under "dappled sun " condition while most others are partial sun/partial shade. I have got my Viridis idea from https://www.houzz.com/magazine/13-japanese-maples-for-shade-stsetivw-vs~47664693 So, Is there any other link I can follow for the information about small, weeping, and very shade tolerant Japanese maple tree?

First, Houzz is not a good place to research plant choices - you really want to focus in on a maple specialty site if you want any hope for reliable plant information. As an example, ALL Asian maples are quite shade tolerant - they grow naturally as understory plants so are accustomed to at the very least dappled or partial shade - full sun in an appropriate climate is an option, not a requirement :-)) And in a climate like San Jose, partial shade is a must. Finding JM's that will tolerate full sun in your area is much more of a challenge.

Laceleaf JM's will generally always produce a wider than tall habit and often very wide. 'Baldsmith' tends to be somewhat smaller in stature than most and offers a fascinating, almost constant change of foliage color throughout the growing season. And if you are willing to forsake the weeping, dissected form, 'MIkawa Yatsubusa' or 'Hupp's Dwarf' would work well in that spot.

Here's a few websites (the first two quite local) that will provide info on planting and growing Japanese/Asian maples and a good selection of cultivars to choose from:

Pacific Coast Maples

Mendocino Maples

Davidsans Maples

The sun/shade ratings are usually based on how much sun a tree can tolerate. As gardengal wrote, any japanese maple will probably grow OK in your spot. Figuring out which ones will look the best in full shade can be tough though. The fall color will likely be different than what you might read online. Also a shaded tree will probably grow slower than what the websites say. You are lucky to have some true JM experts in your area. Asking them for suggestions would be wise. Another good resource is UBC Botanical Garden Forums, where maple lovers post their real world experiences with the various cultivars. So if you wanted info about 'viridis', you could google "acer viridis UBC forums" and find a thread about that cultivar, usually with pictures. One tree I think you should have a look at is acer palmatum 'filigree', which is known as a great tree for shade because of its light green color that really glows in darker areas. It has a beautiful weeping habit and grows slow, as well. Your spot is a little different than most shady areas, though, because of the light colored wall behind it. So I don't think a lighter color is necessarily more desirable in this case.

Thank you gardegal and Mens Tortuosa. Your valuable information is much appreciated. It will take me a while to absorb this information and come up with some JM I really like and can thrive in my growing condition. Growing JM is a time and money consuming business. Hope my investment may pay off in 10 years.

I just planted a Purple Ghost, Orangola, and Tukeyama and really like all three a lot. So much so on the Purple Ghost I went out and bought another. I agree with those above, not getting that much sun would be a good
thing. You could always whitewash the bark if its pretty leafless to
prevent sunscald. I would say plant with good quality compost and take your time training it for a stunning display.

I'd go with a quite dwarf kind in that small space. None will stop growing larger at some point yet remain healthy - a tree or shrub that has completely stopped getting bigger is dead or dying back.

That isn't entirely true Embothrium if the owner is resonsable enough to keep it trimmed. Heck to even change it up with a curve ball why not plant three Japanese maples there training them as you like, but plant them in large plastic pots in the ground making 5-6 foot bonsai... just large enough to take up ever 4-5 years and trim the roots and add new compost/manure.

"Trimming" a Japanese maple to restrain size is fraught with some degree of risk as a) some will simply just get far too large to be useful in that area despite whatever trimming may be done; and b) pruning a JM to maintain size as well as keep or enhance the growth habit often requires a degree of pruning skill far beyond what the average homeowner possesses. Selecting a dwarf form that will remain in size for a much longer period of time before needing any pruning attention makes much better sense and is typically what 95% of my garden design clients request.....low maintenance is the key. Right plant, right place!!

I agree with you gardengal, not to mention in my above post I errantly assume the owner will stay in the house indefinitely. I agree with the dwarf varieties. It appears to me that the yard isn't very big #1 so I doubt it is an insane amount of work. Its a huge focal point as it appears to be by the front door, about 12-14 foot long length by 8-6foot down to 0 wide, and a small grouping of lower growing Japanse Maples like a Tukeyama and Waterfall variety grouped together and trimmed once a year EVERY year would be pragmatic. My mom has a 40 year old 8 foot Tukeyama in full sun all day zone 9 FL gulf coast in an area half that size granted we have taken turns pruning it for its entire life. The Sun only reaching the front corner for one hour is a very good thing so I expect if you plant one the plants will reach up towards the sun so i would plant slightly closer to the wall than the walkway. Pad compaction could be an issue so I would be sure to amend the soil when planting. I would also be concerned about prolonged periods of drought as the bed is probably cut off from irrigation. A cheap irrigation design is to get 2 gallon food grade supermarket buckets, attach capped pvc running from the base of the base of the bucket perpendicularly, drill 1/16th in the pvc, and burry the line underneath the trees. Make sure you have a cap for mosquitoes and you can even put an ornamental pot on top or in front of to hide the bucket. Makes a great way to apply liquid fertilizer.