Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) - the turnip among the maple species
Sycamore maple is a stately maple tree that is impressive in the park. With a height of up to 30 meters and a picturesque crown up to 15 meters wide, the giant brings you a bright firework of colors in autumn. The tree of the year 2009 is also the originator of two great varieties:
- Leopoldii: yellow speckled leaves in ever new patterns; 10 to 20 m height and 4 to 6 m crown diameter
- Prinz Handjery: ideal for small gardens with a broad oval or spherical crown, golden yellow autumn color; 4 to 7 m in height
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The dark side of sycamore maple and its varieties should not be overlooked despite all admiration for its beauty. Researchers recently found that this maple tree contains poison that is deadly to horses and donkeys. The toxin is responsible for widespread willow myopathy, the cause of which has long been a mystery.
Norway maple (Acer platanoides) - progenitor of brilliant varieties
We owe a whole host of splendid varieties to the native Norway maple. As a pure species, the maple tree inspires with a stature height of 15 to 25 meters and pointed, 5 to 7-lobed ornamental leaves. Its yellow-orange-red autumn color is spectacular. Knowledgeable breeders have refined the distinctive character traits into shapely varieties:
- Golden Globe: rare maple tree with golden yellow leaves that turn slightly green in autumn; 6 to 10 m height
- Blood maple 'Faassen's Black': globular, yellow-red flowers in March, black-red foliage in summer; 10 to 15 m height
- Drummondii: leaves with white margins that sparkle in the summer wind, conical, later spherical crown; 7 to 10 m in height
The crowd favorite among the Norway maple varieties is the elegant spherical maple 'Globosum'. The versatile maple tree scores with a spherical crown that flattens out slightly with age and provides pleasant shade. With a height of 350 to 600 cm, the beautifully proportioned variety adorns the front garden, lines an avenue or flanks the house entrance.
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) - maple tree from Asia
A maple tree immigrated from Asia to Europe, which took the hearts of creative gardeners by storm. European maple trumps with a compact silhouette and varied foliage, paired with undemanding care. On the basis of the pure type, a large selection of glamorous varieties is available to you today. The following overview with important key data should make your choice easier:
| Maple varieties | Atropurpurea | Dissectum Garnet | Aureum | Shishigashira | Skeeter's Broom | Mikawa yatsubusa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stature | 300 to 400 cm | 100 to 150 cm | 200 to 300 cm | 150 to 200 cm | 100 to 200 cm | 60 to 150 cm |
| width | 300 to 400 cm | 100 to 150 cm | 200 to 300 cm | 50 to 100 cm | 100 to 200 cm | 60 to 80 cm |
| Foliage color | dark red | purple | golden yellow | deep green | coral red to dark purple red | grass green |
| Autumn colors | bright red | flaming red | yellow-orange to reddish | yellow to orange-red | bright red | yellow-orange to red |
| special feature | many-shoot shrub or small tree | overhanging growth in old age | tightly upright habit | curled leaves in clusters | richly branching | twisted branches, roof-tile-like arrangement of the leaves |
Field maple (Acer campestre)
This selection of beautiful maple species is only complete with the robust field maple. A colorful array of decorative and useful attributes catapults the measure holder to a top position in the ranking of popular ornamental trees. With a stature height of 300 to 1500 cm, rapid annual growth and good-natured cut tolerance, field maple functions equally as a house tree and a hedge plant. The following beautiful varieties emerged from the tree of the year 2015:
- Carnival: white variegated leaves, yellow autumn colors, rapid growth; 300 to 600 cm in height
- Red Shine: red shoots in spring, bronze-green in summer, yellow in autumn; 500 to 900 cm in height
- Nanum: pretty spherical field maple, slowly growing, valuable bee pasture; 400 to 800 cm in height
In the near-natural garden, the family and farm garden, field maple serves as an easy-care enclosure that keeps curious glances away almost all year round. There is already a lot going on in the bushes in spring because the inconspicuous flowers bees, bumblebees and butterflies offer a rich nectar buffet. Birds find a sheltered retreat here and enthusiastically peck at the autumn berries.
Tips
Among the maple species, the range of giants is not limited to the sycamore maple. An equally huge maple tree found its way to Europe from North America. Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is called the showpiece because its leaves shimmer silvery-white underneath. With a height of up to 30 meters, this species is in no way inferior to the sycamore maple.
