This Is our first year offering these Stinky musk maples. They are actually not maples (Acer) at all but rather in the Premna family. They are called Musk or Stinky because the peppery smell that the leaves emit. Personally, I love the smell but some find it offensive. They are fast growing and these are cutting grown all off the tree in the 3rd picture. The leaves are very small compared to others I’ve seen by about %50 at least. We’ve been propagating them for about 3 years now and have enough to start selling them.
They also flower in a few years time. The yellowish white flowers are quite nice.
Common Name(s): Musk maple, Stinky maple, Japanese Neem Tree.
Latin Name: Premna microphylla
Type: Decidous broad-leaf shrub that flowers
Native to: China and Taiwan, and they’ve been in Japan for a long while.
Climate: Hardy from Zones 7-10 but can be grown in colder climates with adequate winter protection. We grow them here in zone 7 with just plastic covering over our hoop houses and no heat. It gets cold in there and never had a problem. I treat them similar to crape Myrtle’s.
Care: Keep them warm and sunny and they’ll grow like a weed.
Size: 4-7”
Notes: This is a deciduous tree and therefore will not have foliage during the winter.