Maple species play a key role in creative garden design. Thanks to a multifaceted variety of varieties, the range extends from the majestic maple tree for the extensive park to the elegant dwarf shrub for pots and balconies. Dive into a hand-picked selection of the most beautiful species and varieties for your green kingdom.
Which types of maple are suitable for the garden?
The attractive maple species for the garden include the majestic sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), the native Norway maple (Acer platanoides), the Asian slotted maple (Acer palmatum) and the robust field maple (Acer campestre). They offer a variety of growth forms, leaf colors and autumn colors for different garden designs.
Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) – the most popular maple species
Sycamore maple is a stately maple tree that stands out impressively in parks. 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 magnificent varieties:
- Leopoldii: yellow-speckled leaves in ever-changing patterns; 10 to 20 m height and 4 to 6 m crown diameter
- Prinz Handjery: ideal for small gardens with a wide oval or spherical crown, golden yellow autumn color; 4 to 7 m growth height
The dark side of sycamore maple and its varieties should not be overlooked despite all the admiration for its beauty. Researchers recently discovered that this maple tree contains a 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 have a whole host of magnificent varieties to thank for the local Norway maple. As a pure species, the maple tree impresses with a height of 15 to 25 meters and pointed, 5 to 7-lobed decorative 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 growth height
- Blood maple 'Faassen's Black': broad-spherical, yellow-red flowers in March, black-red foliage in summer; 10 to 15 m growth height
- Drummondii: white-edged leaves that sparkle in the summer wind, conical, later spherical crown; 7 to 10 m growth height
The audience favorite among the Norway maple varieties is the elegant ball maple 'Globosum'. The versatile maple tree impresses with its spherical crown, which flattens slightly as it ages 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.
Slotted maple (Acer palmatum) – maple tree from Asia
A maple tree immigrated to Europe from Asia and took the hearts of creative garden designers by storm. Slotted maple impresses with its compact silhouette and varied foliage, coupled with undemanding care. Based on the pure type, a large selection of brilliant varieties is now available to you. The following overview with important key data may make your choice easier:
| Slotted Maple Varieties | Atropurpurea | Dissectum Garnet | Aureum | Shishigashira | Skeeter’s Broom | Mikawa yatsubusa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth height | 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 | rich green | coral red to dark purple | grass green |
| Autumn Coloring | light red | flaming red | yellow-orange to reddish | yellow to orange-red | light red | yellow-orange to red |
| special feature | multi-branched shrub or small tree | overhanging growth in old age | tight, upright habitus | curled leaves in clumps | richly branching | twisted branches, roof tile-like arrangement of 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 Maßholder to a top spot in the ranking of popular ornamental trees. With a growth height of 300 to 1500 cm, rapid annual growth and good-natured pruning tolerance, field maple functions as a house tree and hedge plant in equal measure. The following beautiful varieties emerged from the tree of the year 2015:
- Carnival: white-variegated leaves, yellow autumn color, fast growth; 300 to 600 cm height
- Red Shine: red shoots in spring, bronze-green in summer, yellow in autumn; 500 to 900 cm height
- Nanum: pretty ball field maple, slow growing, valuable bee pasture; 400 to 800 cm height
In the natural garden, the family garden and the farm garden, field maple serves as an easy-care fencing that keeps prying eyes away almost all year round. The bushes are already busy in spring because the inconspicuous flowers offer bees, bumblebees and butterflies a rich nectar buffet. Birds find a sheltered retreat here and peck enthusiastically at the autumn berries.
Tip
Among the maple species, the range of giants is not limited to the sycamore maple. An equally enormous 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 growth height of up to 30 meters, this species is in no way inferior to the sycamore maple in terms of presence.