Maples Offer Plenty of Landscape Options

Saturday, October 31, 2009 03:42 AM

Maple trees come in various sizes and shapes and if you have lots of space you may want to plant a large tree rather than the smaller varieties which are more suitable for small spaces. These large types make beautiful specimen trees that will create shade and some varieties can be used as a screen that will provide privacy, as well as protection from the wind. Generally plant them in sun to partial shade, in a well drained fertile soil, keeping in mind how large they will eventually grow so that they do not grow into power lines, roof buildings etc..

Some of the larger varieties can reach heights of 50 feet and the ‘Armstrong Red Maple’ grows 60 feet tall. The Armstrong Red maple is a fast growing upright tree with a width of 20 feet and it has silvery grey bark, and in the fall the foliage turns yellow, orange and red.

The ‘Columnar Norway maple’ also has a narrow width of 20 feet and it turns a bright yellow in the fall. It is drought tolerant once it is established and is a good choice for a screen.

Another drought tolerant maple is the very popular, fast growing, ‘Autumn Blaze’ which turns orange red in the fall.

‘Autumn Spire Red Maple’ and ‘Northwood Red Maple’ both are quite showy in the spring as they grow showy red flowers before the leaves appear and in the fall the foliage turns a showy red. The Autumn Spire Red has a more columnar shape growing 25 feet wide and Northwood has a nice rounded oval shape.

‘Kenora Silver Maple’ has nice green lobed foliage with a silver underside that turns golden yellow in fall.

‘Silver Cloud Maple’ is known for its hardiness and upright symmetrical crown, while ‘Sienna Glen’, is noted for its smaller size deeply lobed green foliage that turns red to burgundy in the fall.

The ‘Sugar Maple’ is native to eastern North America and is one of the best trees for its fall colors of bright red, orange and yellow.

Some mid-sized trees that grow 40-30 feet in height and 25 wide include ‘Crimson King’ which has purple lobed foliage from spring through to fall adding season long color to the landscape, and ‘Prairie Splendor’ also has red lobed foliage throughout the growing season.

Another maple with nice season color is ‘Silver Variegated’ as it has green and white variegated lobed leaves that turn a bright yellow in the fall.

‘Crimson Sentry’ is a very colorful tree throughout the growing season as it starts with bright red foliage in spring, turning purple/red throughout the summer and fall. It is smaller sized growing 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide and is slower growing making it ideal if space is limited.

With so many maples to choose from there is one to fit most landscapes.

-Jos

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