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Sunshine in maple form 🌤️
Family: Sapindaceae · Pot diameter: 19 cm · Height: 35–45 cm
Acer shirasawanum ‘Jordan’ feels like golden light shaped into a small tree. Fresh growth opens pale orange, quickly brightens to clear yellow and lime green, and keeps the crown luminous through summer before turning orange and red in autumn. Almost circular eleven-lobed leaves give it a graphic identity distinctly different from a typical palmatum. Its presence remains refined at close range and clear from a distance, allowing it to act as a complete ornamental feature that renews the composition with every seasonal transition. It is a cultivar with a distinct identity, capable of turning even a restrained corner into a scene of colour, movement and collectable character.
Its small upright and softly rounded form brightens darker backgrounds at an entrance, on a terrace or in a small garden. It is ideal as a luminous counterpoint to burgundy foliage and as a focal feature that adds intensity without weighing down the composition.
Three substantial qualities explain why ‘Jordan’ stands out both in close detail and in its overall presence.
Growth opens pale orange, moves through yellow and lime green in summer and warms to orange and red in autumn.
Almost circular leaves with eleven lobes create a distinctive elegant pattern within the luminous crown.
The small upright crown acts as a luminous vertical element with a balanced rounded top.
Why you will love it: A small tree shaped like a sunbeam, bringing immediate light and carrying a warm palette from spring into autumn.
Use it as a focal point near an entrance, sheltered seating area or in the middle layer of a cool mixed planting. At maturity, it develops a small upright crown with a softly rounded outline and benefits from a calm background and sufficient open space to retain its natural architecture.
For several plants retaining a free natural crown, allow centre-to-centre spacing close to the verified mature spread of 2.5–4 m. In a pot choose a stable base, free drainage and a position where the roots are protected from overheating.
The lime, yellow and orange-red palette of ‘Jordan’ becomes clearer beside black rounded masses and burgundy-silver ferns. All three choices suit bright partial shade and organic soil with even moisture and good drainage, creating clean layers around the Acer’s natural form.
Bright partial shade or gentle morning sun; protect the yellow foliage from fierce midday sun and drying winds.
Water thoroughly when the upper layer begins to dry, maintaining even moisture without waterlogging; check pots more frequently in hot weather.
Deciduous and hardy in winter cold; fresh growth benefits from shelter against late frost, hot dry air and extreme summer exposure.
An ornamental plant, not food. It is not intended for consumption; place it away from children or animals that tend to chew plant material.
Bright partial shade or gentle morning sun; protect the yellow foliage from fierce midday sun and drying winds.
Plant in fertile, organic, acid to neutral soil that retains moisture yet drains freely. Keep the root collar level with the surrounding soil and allow the natural crown the space indicated by its mature habit.
Use a roomy, stable outdoor pot with unobstructed drainage holes and a structured growing medium that resists compaction. It can grow for years in a large outdoor pot with free drainage and even moisture. As it matures towards 2.5–4 m × 2.5–4 m, check available root space periodically and move to a larger pot when required.
Water thoroughly when the upper layer begins to dry, maintaining even moisture without waterlogging; check pots more frequently in hot weather. An organic mulch helps buffer sudden changes in moisture and temperature.
A light application of balanced fertiliser in early spring is usually sufficient. Avoid excessive nitrogen and late feeding, which encourage soft new growth.
Pruning is rarely necessary. Remove only dead, damaged or awkwardly crossing branches after leaf fall and before midwinter. A bare crown in winter is entirely normal.
After planting, new growth may be restrained while the root system settles. Even moisture and a sheltered microclimate matter more than rapid extension.
As the main shoots branch, the plant gradually develops a small upright crown with a softly rounded outline. Its natural line is most attractive when it is not clipped into a rigid shape.
With maturity it repeats its distinctive colour cycle each year: pale orange and yellow in spring, lime green in summer and orange-red in autumn, followed by natural leaf fall.
Indicative natural silhouette; verified mature dimensions 2.5–4 m high × 2.5–4 m wide.
The crown is naturally bare in winter. Colour intensity and timing vary with light, temperature and microclimate.
What to expect after planting: In a suitable position in open ground, the mature form reaches approximately 2.5–4 m in height and 2.5–4 m in spread over 10–20 years. Growth usually remains more restrained in a pot.
‘Jordan’ was found at Fratelli Gilardelli nursery in Pistoia, Tuscany. It was named in honour of Giordano Gilardelli, one of the nursery’s owners; ‘Jordan’ is the English form of his first name.
Almost circular leaves with a larger number of shorter lobes are a characteristic morphological clue to Acer shirasawanum, distinguishing it from the typical outline of Acer palmatum.
Six practical answers covering light, seasonal colour, pots, mature size, pruning and winter leaf fall.
Bright partial shade or gentle morning sun; protect the yellow foliage from fierce midday sun and drying winds. A sheltered microclimate matters just as much as the number of hours of light.
Lime summer colour naturally follows the orange and yellow flush; exact intensity varies with gentle light and temperature.
It can grow for years in a large outdoor pot with free drainage and even moisture. As it matures towards 2.5–4 m × 2.5–4 m, check available root space periodically and move to a larger pot when required.
In a suitable position in open ground it reaches approximately 2.5–4 m in height and 2.5–4 m in spread over 10–20 years. Microclimate and available root space influence the rate.
Usually not; its natural architecture is central to its beauty. If cleaning is needed, work after leaf fall and before midwinter, removing only what is necessary.
Yes. It is deciduous and sheds its leaves in autumn after completing its colour cycle. Fresh growth returns in spring.
