Acer Alpenglow® ‘INAG-E61’: This remarkable hybrid maple offers outstanding potential for complementing a conifer garden. As a companion plant, it would provide additional interest and beauty with its changing, captivating colors; deciduous nature; pleasing texture; and sturdy, year-round, ornamental structure. In 1997, Iseli Nursery initiated a breeding program to enhance the hardiness of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), while also focusing on imparting distinctive red foliage. In 2016, after many hybridization efforts incorporating the very cold-hardy Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum), a seedling stood out with the desired attributes and was tested to survive temperatures of minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. In the spring, Alpenglow (PP35,081) leafs out with translucent veins that capture light to produce a rich, glowing merlot-colored display on deeply divided, seven- to nine-lobed leaves. As the growing season progresses, the display mellows to burnished bronze. Then in the fall, the scene changes to a blaze of oranges and reds. As a small to moderately sized tree with an upright, narrow oval habit and graceful arching branches, it can be expected to at least obtain a height of nine to 10 feet and a width of six to seven feet in 15 years. Growth typically occurs at a rate of nine inches per year. It is rated for USDA zones 4 through 8.

Shipping Date Options: You will be asked to select your preferred shipping date. If ordering maples, please be sure to select February or March as these are the only months they can be shipped.

Fine Print: Purchases for the Collectors' Conifer of the Year program are limited to one of each selection per individual. Orders will be honored on a first-received basis. Since the inventory is limited to 50 plants for each offering, ordering early is advantageous to ensure your desired plant(s) is/are available. To efficiently provide notice of availability, ordering will be available online this year at https://www2.conifersociety.org/store/. Each offer comes with a one-year/one-time replacement guarantee should the plants fail to grow during the first year in their appropriate USDA zone. Accompanying each conifer will be an anodized aluminum stake and a Metal photo tag that identifies the plant as a winner of the American Conifer Society’s annual award of “Collectors’ Conifer of the Year” and displays a QR to the society’s website. Likewise, a tag and stake will accompany companion plants. Shipping is included in the listed costs. All orders must be received by January 1, 2026 (unless sold out sooner). We cannot ship outside the continental United States.