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Arborvitae are perfect for providing a botanical backdrop that accentuates the form and color of a Japanese maple. If the maple in question has green leaves, you can select a Thuja variety with yellow foliage, for a clash-free pairing.
An excellent species to start with is Thuja occidentalis, or the American arborvitae, native to North America.
It’s a go-to hedging evergreen that grows 25 to 40 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide at maturity.
With a broad, pyramidal habit and dense, bright green foliage, the American arborvitae makes for a perfect backdrop to your A. palmatum.
American Arborvitae
You can find American arborvitae available in sprinter pots from Nature Hills Nursery.
Another beautiful option is Thuja plicata ‘4Ever’ aka ‘Forever Goldy.’
With a mature height of 10 to 12 feet, a width of three to four feet, and a striking golden-green hue to its foliage, this plant would look fantastic when planted behind or to the side of a Japanese maple.
‘Forever Goldy’
You can find this cultivar available in one-gallon containers at FastGrowingTrees.com.
2. Chinese Juniper
Native to Eastern China, Mongolia, Japan, and India, Juniperus chinensis thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9.
The variety within this species is vast, as there are many different cultivars of various sizes, colors, and growth habits to choose from. The common denominator among these is flattened, evergreen foliage that’s instantly recognizable.
Whether you choose an upright yellow tree to plant in the background or a sprawling blue shrub to install beneath the canopy, there’s a Chinese juniper for every occasion.
‘Blue Point’ sports blue-green foliage and an upright pyramidal form with a broad base, topping out at four to 12 feet tall with a two- to eight-foot spread.
This Chinese juniper would provide a contrasting column of order next to the asymmetrical sprawl of a Japanese maple.
‘Blue Point’ Chinese Juniper
You can find ‘Blue Point’ available in one-gallon pots at FastGrowingTrees.com.
Learn more about growing junipers in our guide.
3. Coral Bells
Native to North America, coral bells (Heuchera spp.) are hardy in Zones 4 to 9 and best known for their showy foliage.
The leaves can be blue, brown, green, pink, purple, white, and/or variegated, and appear as unevenly lobed discs, with each lobe’s veins intersecting in the “palm” of each leaf.
The insignificant, tiny flowers are borne on long, tall, ultra-skinny stalks, which some beholders might consider beautiful… but I personally snip them off to divert the plant’s energy to producing more vibrant leaves.
The clumped mass of foliage grows very low to the ground – with a mature size of one to one-and-a-half feet tall and one to two feet wide – which lets you stick them in some pretty tight spots around and under an A. palmatum.
‘Guacamole’ Coral Bells
PlantingTree.com sells ‘Guacamole,’ a hybrid cultivar with foliage in shades of green that resemble avocado pulp. Man, this roundup is suddenly making me crave a burrito bowl…
Read more about growing heuchera in our guide.
4. Ferns
I know I’m casting a rather large net by including a section on “ferns,” but I had a hard time choosing a single group or species to pair with Japanese maple.
There’s something about their uniquely-shaped fronds that just looks fantastic when they’re adjacent to this maple’s uniquely-shaped foliage.
“Leaves of a strangeness, together lack lameness…” Okay, I’m still working on that one.
If you’ve been in the gardening game for any length of time, you’re probably aware of plants in the Polypodiopsida family – they unfurl in response to light, they reproduce via spores, and they love partial shade.
Ferns range in height and spread from a couple of inches to six feet – and that’s not even including tree ferns, which can grow up to 80 feet tall!
Read more about growing ferns in our guide.
The typical greenness of a fern’s foliage pairs quite nicely with the reddish-purple varieties of A. palmatum, especially as an underplanting that’s nestled beneath a Japanese maple’s canopy.
Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’ is a Japanese shield fern, also known as autumn fern, that grows two feet tall and wide.
It emerges in spring with beautiful orange-red new fronds that mature to a lustrous green in summer, and is very disease- and pest-resistant.
It would look fantastic planted in clumps near a Japanese maple or under its canopy.
‘Brilliance’
You can find ‘Brilliance’ available from FastGrowingTrees.com in one- and three-gallon containers.
5. Flowering Dogwood
Reaching a height and spread of 15 to 30 feet, Cornus florida is native to the eastern US and Canada, and northern Mexico, and hardy in Zones 5 to 9.
With an upright, spreading form, this tree has oval-shaped green leaves that transition to shades of purple and red in autumn.
The flowers are iconic and easy to identify – each inflorescence has a clump of insignificant green flowers at its center, surrounded by petal-like bracts which have little darkened notches on the edges.
Blooming in early spring, the flowers range in color from white to pink to red, or even a golden yellow.
If you ask me, unless you’re in the market for something evergreen, eye-catching flowers are a must if you wish to plant another type of tree in the vicinity of your Japanese maple – and the flowering dogwood definitely delivers.
And even when the flowers and leaves are absent, the tree’s naked form is a sight to behold, especially when frost or snow has collected upon the branches.
These trees provide asymmetrical balance with their contrasting forms, foliage, and flowers, yet similar sizes. Keep “opposite, yet interconnected” in mind when placing your specimens.
Flowering Dogwood
To purchase a gorgeous white-flowering Cornus florida that’s sold at various starting heights between one and seven feet, check out FastGrowingTrees.com.
The stark white flowers pair quite nicely with the dark red foliage of certain Japanese maple varieties in springtime.
6. Hostas
As Asian natives that are hardy in Zones 3 to 9, Hosta species are suitable companions for the Japanese maple.
Their large deciduous leaves are ideal for capturing sunlight in the partially-shaded conditions necessary for them to thrive. You can plant hostas under Japanese maple canopies to add color, texture, and interest to the ground.
Depending on the species and cultivar, the showy leaves come in shades of blue, green, and yellow-green, and can even have striking variegation. Discover some of our favorite varieties in this roundup.
They’re similar to coral bells in that you can snip off the flower stalks and not miss out on anything ornamentally important, though some varieties of hosta do produce more stunning flowers than others.
With a mounding habit, hostas rarely grow taller and wider than two and three feet, respectively.
For a selection of hostas to add to your garden, check out PlantingTree.com.
See our guide to learn more about growing hostas.
7. Japanese Black Pine
Native to Japan and South Korea, Pinus thunbergii is suitable for growing in Zones 5 to 8, and reaches a mature height of 20 to 50 feet, with a spread of about half that.
P. thunbergii produces two three- to six-inch-long, dark green needles per sheath, with prominent vertical bunches of silvery-white buds at the apex of each branch.
This pine tree lacks the prominent central leader that many of its relatives possess, and branches grow more irregularly with age, creating an asymmetrical form.
Given the Japanese maple’s own twisting-and-turning branching habit, this makes the Japanese black pine all the more suitable for complementing A. palmatum, whether as a taller specimen with an overarching canopy or as a background planting.
Japanese Black Pine
You can find P. thunbergii available to purchase at Nature Hills Nursery.
8. Japanese Snowbell
Styrax japonicus, aka Japanese snowbell tree, is native to China, Japan, and northern parts of the Philippines.
Hardy in Zones 5 to 9, this deciduous flowering tree reaches a mature height and spread of 20 to 30 feet, and has a drooping and rounded growth habit which commands the attention of onlookers.
The elliptically-shaped and glossy foliage is green in summer, and turns golden to reddish in fall. S. japonicus flowers are waxy and white-petaled with yellow stamens, and hang downwards from pink stems that are about one to two inches in length.
In particular, the cascading flowers are a perfect fit when paired with the foliar habit of Japanese weeping maples, especially when your A. palmatum var. dissectum is placed in the foreground or under the canopy of a Japanese styrax!
Japanese Snowbell
If you’re looking for a white-flowering Japanese snowbell, Nature Hills Nursery sells them in #2 containers.
9. Hakone Grass
For a good-looking ornamental grass that does well in the shade, give Hakonechloa macra a try.
Native to Japan and ideally cultivated in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9, Hakone grass has paper-thin foliage that’s typically light green, but variegated cultivars are also available with white, gold, or green stripes.
Also known as Japanese forest grass, each individual plant typically grows one to three feet tall and spreads one to two feet wide, so don’t try to host any rec league games on a field of Hakone grass or anything like that.
It’s the ideal size for growing under or adjacent to a Japanese maple’s canopy.
‘Aureola’ is a variegated cultivar with light green and gold foliage that would look outstanding beneath a Japanese maple with dark foliage.
‘Aureola’ Hakone Grass
You can find ‘Aureola’ available in #1 containers at Nature Hills Nursery.
10. Sacred Lotus
This one comes with a bit of an asterisk: you’ll need a body of water – such as a small backyard pond – in order to grow lotus flowers, since Nelumbo nucifera is an aquatic plant.
But the way that a Japanese maple’s visual form reflects off the water can’t be beat!
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