6 Remarkable Maples

Acer griseum: The Cinnamon Bark Maple

Also known as Paperbark Maple or Cinnamon Bark Maple, this Chinese-origin maple is a unique tree, essential in winter gardens for its remarkable bark. With a cinnamon colour, exfoliating in rolls that gradually turn a bright reddish-brown, it gives Acer griseum its noble character in the heart of winter. This stunning peeling of the trunk is observed after a few years, knowing that this tree grows slowly. It has other assets, particularly its trilobed foliage that changes from orange to scarlet red in autumn before falling. Prior to this, it displays dark green foliage throughout the summer, with a greyish underside (hence its Latin name griseum). Its trunk generally remains quite short, giving it a beautiful narrow silhouette with upright branches. It requires planting in isolation or in small groups of three, in full sun or light partial shade, to enhance this incredible bark. Note that it prefers acidic, cool but well-drained soils. Nectariferous in spring, with a medium height of 4 to 6 m, the cinnamon maple is a tree with which you can start a collection of remarkable maples!

→ Learn more with our advice sheet on the most beautiful barks

Acer griseum, summer foliage (© F. Richards), autumn foliage (© Derek Winterburn) and exfoliated bark.

Acer negundo ‘Variegatum’: the Variegated Maple

Maples offer surprisingly diverse foliage, and among the most interesting, due to their extreme brightness, is the Acer negundo ‘Variegatum’ (or Variegated Negundo Maple), a superb variety! It features a remarkable cream variegation around the leaf margins, sometimes slightly pink at the bud burst period. The leaves are quite large (between 5 and 10 cm), compound with 3 to 7 leaflets, slightly dentate, and they turn a lovely yellow in autumn. This variety produces numerous nectariferous and melliferous flowers in spring, followed by samaras that will remain on the tree throughout winter. This maple, native to the western United States, has the advantage of growing quickly, reaching up to 7 m in height with an average spread of 4 m. The variegated Negundo Maple is also interesting for its ability to thrive in all types of soil, even tolerating limestone. It prefers a semi-shaded or sunny location. It is magical when planted alone on a short grass meadow, instantly brightening the garden.

Other noteworthy cultivars in this variegated vein include: Acer negundo ‘Flamingo’, which bursts forth with a stunning pink margin, and Acer negundo ‘Aureomarginatum’ with its foliage speckled with golden yellow.

The Variegated Maple or Ash-leaved Maple, habit (© Wendy Cutler) and foliage

Acer davidii: the Snake Bark Maple

Here is a second maple whose bark is one of the most beautiful in the genus: Acer davidii stands out in winter with its trunk veined with white stripes. This tree can grow up to 15 m tall, but it is more commonly found at heights of 6 to 8 m, with a mature spread of 3 to 4 m.
The foliage is equally impressive, with a unique oval shape for this maple. The leaves emerge red and turn green before splendidly evolving from yellow to red in autumn. Like the Cinnamon Maple, its trunk is short, often in coppice (with multiple trunks), but it takes on a well-spreading habit over time, with its crown widening. Native to Yunnan in China, it withstands frost and wind well and is ideally planted in partial shade, which helps maintain a well-marginate white bark.

There are other snake-bark maples just as spectacular with their striated bark: Acer capillipes, often referred to as the Red Jaspé Maple, has olive green bark flecked with white that will crack over time, developing brown to red veins, and its autumn foliage is bright red. Acer pensylvaticum, or Jaspé Maple, deserves to be better known for its bark also striated with wide white stripes and its very bright yellow autumn foliage. Finally, Acer rufinerve also has a beautiful grey-speckled “snake skin” bark, which is rather smooth. It is also known for its vine-like leaves, which turn a stunning orange-red in autumn.

→ Learn more with our advice sheet on the most beautiful barks and in Olivier’s video on Acer davidii

Acer davidii ‘George Forrest’ with a more trailing habit on the left (© Leonora Enking), bark on the right

Acer x freemani ‘Autumn Blaze’: stunning!

When it comes to autumn flamboyance, the Acer x freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’ is simply sovereign: this hybrid between a Acer rubrum (red maple) and a Acer saccharinum (silver maple), both remarkable species for their foliage colouration, produces a tree of great ornamental value. It also has the particularity of retaining its large lobed leaves late into autumn, thus extending the enchantment of the display it provides in the garden! It will take on its beautiful hues in neutral to acidic, cool soil. Fast-growing, the Freeman maple displays a tall, narrow silhouette in its youth, then it will round out, always with its upright branches. You can plant this large and beautiful tree as a specimen like the other maples in this selection to enjoy its appearance, but also in alignment along a large garden, for example.
You will also undoubtedly be charmed by the Acer tataricum ginnala, which also dons a stunning bright red in autumn, but remains smaller in size.

Acer x freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’: autumn foliage (© Dave & Margie Hill), habit and lobed leaf on the right

Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’: the globe maple

This more widely spread maple is part of our selection for its useful rounded habit in smaller spaces. The Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’ quickly develops a very rounded ramified crown, forming a lovely compact ball. It will flatten slightly over time, giving it a little parasol-like appearance that is very ornamental. Its foliage remains dark green throughout the summer, then turns to a golden yellow in autumn. The Norway maple ball will be an easy ornamental tree to establish in a medium-sized city garden, as it tolerates urban pollution well, and its shape allows it to be used as a small shade tree. Reaching a height and width of 5 to 6 m at ripeness, you will certainly also adopt it in a larger garden where it will take on its full charm when isolated.

Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’ (© Babij)

Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’: the purple king with golden flowers

This maple features remarkable purple foliage and beautiful autumn hues. It is primarily for this crimson leaf colour that Acer Crimson King is valued in the garden, providing a useful dark touch in landscaping, similar to a Prunus cerasifera ‘Pissardii’ or a Cotinus. The large palmate leaves are glossy, turning red and coppery orange in autumn, another attraction of this remarkable maple. But well before that, in spring, it also boasts a beautiful bright yellow flowering before the leaves appear, contrasting beautifully when they do. Its fairly broad habit is also interesting for inserting it into medium-sized gardens or larger ones (it can grow up to 12 m tall with a spread of about 5-6 m). Fast-growing, it will find its place in a sunny location in many gardens, providing a magnificent contrast and a lot of depth.

The stunning Acer ‘Crimson King’ with almost black foliage, habit on the left (© David Stang), foliage (© HQ), and flowering (©Andy Morffew)