Acer platanoides Columnare - Maple

Acer platanoides 'Columnare' is an old cultivar of the Norway maple with a dense, fastigiate habit. This medium-sized tree, approximately 15m (49ft) tall and 5m (16ft) wide, is widely used as a street tree. Its slender shape adds elegance and design to avenues and pathways, which it adorns with its glossy, dark green foliage that turns golden yellow in autumn. The Norway maple is not very demanding in terms of soil, as long as it is well-drained and deep enough to accommodate its powerful root system.

Originally from the Caucasus and widely spread in Europe from Scandinavia to Spain and eastwards to Russia, the Norway maple is a large, fast-growing, deciduous tree often associated with oak, linden, and elm in high-altitude forests. This light-loving species is found in low and medium-altitude mountain regions, which provide it with the cool atmosphere and deep, fertile, moist to damp and calcareous soils that it loves. It can live up to 200 years. 'Columnare' is an old French variety created by the Carrière nurseries in 1878. It is particularly well-suited as a street tree. At maturity, this single-trunk tree with an upright and narrow habit will reach 15 to 20m (49- 65ft) in height and 6m (20ft) in spread. Its foliage is deciduous. The leaves are opposite, palmate, 10 to 20cm (3.9 - 7.9 in) long, with 5 to 7 very pointed, toothed lobes. The leaves, carried by long petioles, are hairless and have a glossy texture. They turn a beautiful yellow to coppery hue in autumn. The flowers, in the form of corymbs of tiny yellow-green flowers, are particularly attractive to bees. It is followed, in June, by winged fruits measuring 3 to 5cm (2 in) in length, called samaras. The bark of this tree is grey-brown, almost smooth, marked with numerous shallow longitudinal fissures.

The Acer platanoides 'Columnare' is easy-to-grow, adaptable to all types of soil as long as it is deep and not too wet. It is suitable for urban environments, where it is often used as a street tree to border large avenues and roads. Its good resistance to weather conditions makes it interesting as a windbreak tree, closely planted in rows. In large gardens, it will add verticality and stylistic design planted alongside trees and shrubs with more rounded forms.