Unique Features: The Northern Glow is a hybrid between the Japanese maple and the cold hardier, tougher Korean maple. This cultivar was developed in Madison, Wisconsin by Dr. Ed Hasselkus. The deeply incised palmate leaves and contorted trunk(s) more closely resemble the Japanese side. The leaves emerge with an orange tint and mature to a darker green, then change to a bright orange to deep red in fall.  It will do best with an eastern exposure and wind protection. Maples ‘wake up’ as early as February, and necessitate an increase in the winter watering at this time. This early awakening also means that these and other maples should be pruned in the late summer to very early fall, while the leaves are still on the tree.  Pruning at this time will help to prevent sap ‘bleeding’ from the cuts the following spring.