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Colour that changes with the seasons: red → yellow-green → orange → red 🍁
Family: Sapindaceae · Pot diameter: 19 cm · Height: 35–40 cm
Acer shirasawanum Moonrise® (‘Munn 001’) opens spring like a little sunrise, its young red leaves lighting a crown that gradually softens to yellow-green. The almost circular blades, edged with many pointed lobes, spread like small fans and let light filter between them. In autumn, orange and red return, giving the same quietly rounded silhouette a warm, luminous final appearance before the leaves fall.
Against a dark hedge or beside simple stone, the luminous crown takes on the presence of a small living sculpture. It suits sheltered courtyards and spacious terraces where the changing leaves can be enjoyed at close range and its natural branching has room to show.
Three substantial qualities explain why ‘Moonrise’ stands out both in close detail and in its overall presence.
Bright red spring growth becomes fresh yellow-green in summer and turns orange and red in autumn.
Broad almost circular lobed leaves create a calm surface that makes seasonal colour changes especially clear.
The compact rounded line brings a complete presence at a restrained scale.
Why you will love it: A true colour calendar: red, yellow-green, orange and back to red.
Place it beside a sheltered seating area against a dark background, where its broad leaves and loosely rounded crown remain clearly visible. Leave open space around the lateral branches: this cultivar continues to spread as it grows.
Avoid squeezing it between walls and other trees. Its initially compact appearance does not mean it will remain permanently small. In a pot choose a stable base, free drainage and a position where the roots are protected from overheating.
The red, yellow-green and orange palette of ‘Moonrise’ becomes clearer beside black bases, orange-red ferns and white margins. 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 morning sun, sheltered 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 morning sun, sheltered 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. Check the available root space periodically and move to a larger pot when needed; pot-grown size depends on root space and care.
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 loosely rounded compact crown. 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: bright red in spring, yellow-green in summer and orange-red in autumn, followed by natural leaf fall.
Broad, nearly round leaves spread across upright branches, changing from red to yellow-green.
The leaves fall naturally in autumn. Winter reveals the woody framework that will support new growth the following spring.
What to expect after planting: For garden planning, allow an indicative height and spread of 1.5–2.5 m over roughly 5–10 years. Growth continues beyond this stage: a 17-year-old specimen in favourable conditions was about 4 m tall and 3.5 m wide. Growth is usually more limited in a pot.
At Brooks in Oregon, Carl A. Munn selected a chance seedling of Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’. Its red new growth and yellow-green summer leaves set it apart from its parent. The name ‘Moonrise’ came from this progression of colours, which reminded him of the moon rising.
Years of observation and propagation by grafting followed. The selection was described as ‘Munn 001’ in 2004 and received a US plant patent in 2006. In 2016 Hillier presented it at the Chelsea Flower Show, beginning a new chapter in its journey into British gardens.
In Acer shirasawanum ‘Moonrise’, the almost circular blade usually has nine to eleven lobes. The incisions stop before the base, leaving one continuous leaf with radiating veins and a finely toothed outline.
In Acer shirasawanum, the fruits form upright clusters above the foliage. Each pair consists of two samaras, each carrying a seed and a thin wing. Their upright position helps distinguish the species from other Japanese maples.
Six practical answers covering light, seasonal colour, pots, mature size, pruning and winter leaf fall.
Bright partial shade or morning sun, sheltered from fierce midday sun and drying winds. A sheltered microclimate matters just as much as the number of hours of light.
The change from red to yellow-green is natural and expected; later flushes may introduce warm colour again.
It can grow for years in a large outdoor pot with free drainage and even moisture. Check the available root space periodically and move to a larger pot when needed; pot-grown size depends on root space and care.
Its compact young habit does not mean it remains a dwarf. In favourable conditions it continues growing for many years, so allow room beyond the indicative garden size shown above.
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.
