You might need to use full shade there. How do non-variegated Japanese maples do there?

If you look at were Japanese Maples grow naturally they are in dappled shade. They are noted as understory trees. They need some sun to keep the variegation going. Also prune any solid green branches out.

Mine look best in high bright shade with filtered direct sun or morning or early evening direct sun. It is the same type of location that american dogwoods( Cornus Florida)do well in.

David

Perfect. My property is Dogwood Heaven, so I should have no problem with these! :-)

k-4, Other than early morning sun, I would seek out as much shade as possible! AL

I'm in Northern CA.
I have a "butterfly" that is in some pretty good shade under a big walnut tree and it seems to like that. It is in a wooden planter box I made (so I could relocate it, hee hee).
I have an "ukigomo" that is 8 feet tall that I planted in the ground recently. It is under a high oak canopy, and the leaves have been changing all kinds of ways, getting a bit darker now than when they emerged in Spring. Very nice tree, this is.
Then also in the ground I have a "koto no ito" that does get some sun during the middle of the day. It goes in and out of sun due to redwood trees and mediterranean cypresses shading it. We had some 100 degree days recently. I was surprised that it did not burn much. An "emperor I" in basically the same area got pretty krinkled by that heat. I think the emperor gets a bit more direct sun though and a prudent grower would make some kind of overhead lattice to be deployed for it during hot spells.