Maple trees don't generally require pruning, but, if needed, prune when they are dormant to remove any dead, dying, or crowded branches, or to maintain shape. When planting take care not to burn the roots by mixing the fertilizer into the soil before placing your tree in the hole. Fertilizingįertilize in early spring and when planting to give your tree a boost. Maples can tolerate a wet area, but they shouldn't be in standing water. Maples should be watered often enough to keep the soil moist. Mulching with pine straw or pine bark will help over time as they begin to break down, but are not an immediate solution for increasing acidity. To acidify your soil, amend with compost, elemental sulfur, or use fertilizers specific for acid loving plants. If you have alkaline soil, you can amend your soil. However, Maples will adapt to a variety of soils. These trees tolerate full sun to part shade and prefer soil that is well-drained, slightly acidic, and nutrient rich. However, if you avoid freezing and hot temperatures you can plant your Maple almost any time of the year. Spring and Fall are ideal times to plant. Verticillium wilt, aphids, and horse chestnut scale can affect maples.When planting your Red Maple tree be sure you have the right location and conditions for your new tree to thrive. Protect young and container-grown acers from winter weather by wrapping them in horticultural fleece. Most do not like or require a lot of pruning, but select branches can be removed to shape the shrubbier Japanese forms into attractive multi-trunked trees, and dead wood should be cut out. In the right conditions, maples are low-maintenance, no-fuss trees. Field maples are also great plants for an exposed site and work well in a mixed hedge. Amur maples will also tolerate an exposed position. campestre), that do not require acid soil. However, there are plenty of acers, such as field maples ( A. Many acers (including Japanese forms) require a neutral to acid pH, so, if you are on alkaline soil, they are best grown in well-drained containers with a mix of ericaceous and John Innes No 3 composts. The soil should be well-drained and moisture retentive, so dig in organic matter (such as peat-free compost) before planting. Red-leaved forms (such as ‘Bloodgood’), however, are able to cope with stronger light. Where to plant acersįor most maples, choose a spot in sheltered semi-shade to prevent the leaves being scorched by cold winds and hot sun. campestre) is also a big tree eventually, with the species producing luminous-gold leaves and the variety ‘Evenley Red’ glowing garnet in the October light. rubrum ‘October Glory’ burns ruby red before the leaves fall. violaceum) has weird and wonderful pink-purple tassel flowers in spring, and the red maple A. All are slow-growing to 6 metres or more.įor the larger garden, the box elder ( A. tegmentosum), such as ‘Phoenix’, which has pink and amber bark during the cold months, and ivory and green ‘White Tigress’, which Roy Lancaster has named as his favourite plant. Also boasting beautiful trunks are the striped snakebark maples ( A. griseum) has fiery autumn leaves and gorgeous cinnamon-coloured peeling bark that brightens the winter garden. ginnala ‘Flame’ is a spreading tree with rich-red autumn leaves that copes well with drought. The word Acer is thought to derive from the Latin acris (sharp), after the pointy tips of the leaves.īut the Japanese maples are not the only acers that make good garden trees. He decided upon the species name palmatum because the leaves resemble a hand. The most well-known garden form – the Japanese maple Acer palmatum – was brought to Europe by Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg. In the modern era, of course, many were introduced. It is believed that the plants all originated in Asia and gradually spread – for example, via the Bering Land Bridge. Of the 153 species, around 80% are classed as native to Asia, with the rest mostly native to North America, Europe, and North Africa. Some acers also offer colourful spring foliage others have a sculptural spreading shape with multiple trunks and a few provide attractive bark during the winter months. Their distinctive palmate leaves burn breathtaking, vivid shades of scarlet, ruby, or gold before they fall, outshining most trees in the vicinity. Should you be stopped in your tracks by the blazing colour of a tree this autumn, it is likely to be a maple ( Acer).
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