Maple Trees Offer Great Fall Colour

Saturday, October 24, 2009 03:45 AM

Amur Maple leaves turn bright red in fall

Maple trees are a beautiful addition to any landscape and in the fall they have colorful foliage that makes them even more attractive. If you have always wanted one but are limited to space, then perhaps you should consider planting a smaller variety such as ‘Amur’, ‘Korean’, or ‘Hot Wings’ maples, which are all smaller in size, and hardy for our area.

‘Amur Maple’ is one of the hardiest, (zone 2) and versatile varieties as it can be grown as a bush or a small tree, making it a good choice for a hedge, screen or as a feature tree. This is because it is available as multi-stemmed or with a single trunk. Generally it can grow 15-20 feet high and 12-15 feet wide. In the spring it produces yellow fragrant flowers and during the summer it has dark green, shiny, foliage that in fall turns a bright crimson red, along with the bright red, winged samaras (winged seed). Over the winter months it remains attractive because of the smooth, grey bark which has vertical stripes running through it. It grows best in full sun but tolerates light shade and adapts to many soils including being drought tolerant, but prefers acidic, well drained soil.

The ‘Korean Maple’ is a small sized, hardy (zone 3) maple with nice bark and branching that would make a good replacement to the Japanese maple that is not hardy for here. It is a small ornamental tree growing 16 feet tall and 10 feet wide. The pretty lobed shaped foliage is a bronze green during the summer and in the fall it changes to a blend of yellow, orange and red. It would look very nice planted near a water feature or as a specimen or accent plant in the landscape.

‘Hot Wings’ maple grows 20 feet high and 20 feet wide making in another good choice for smaller spaces. The name “hot wings” comes from the brilliant red samaras that cover the tree in mid summer. This small, slower growing ornamental tree has an upright spreading habit and is a sturdy tree with strong branches. In the spring it produces small almost white/yellow flowers and the lush, green, textured summer foliage changes to yellow then red in the fall. It grows well in average to dry soil, is drought tolerant and is tolerant of alkaline soil and is hardy for zone 3.

Generally maples grow best when planted in full sun, and in well drained soil but some varieties are more adaptable than others to varying conditions. They are relatively low maintenance and do not need a lot of pruning. The Amur maple can withstand heavy pruning and be shaped and kept small. When pruning maple trees you must wait until mid summer when the foliage has reached full size. If you prune in spring when most trees/shrubs are pruned the tree could be seriously put back as the sap is running and the tree will bleed. If you are not sure if the sap is running, prune a tiny branch first to check whether it is or not, before continuing more pruning.

-Jos

Jos VanHage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George

-Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road

-Highway 16 West at Kimball Road

Previous Story - Next Story