Description
Acer platanoides – Norway maple
Quality: 1/2 P
Short description: The Norway maple is one of the most common and adaptable native deciduous trees – a true all-rounder. In spring, bright yellow-green flowers open even before the leaves emerge, providing bees with an early nectar source. The typically five-lobed foliage with sharply pointed tips glows a rich yellow and orange in autumn. As an avenue tree, specimen tree, or forest tree, it is at home throughout Central Europe.
Climatic characteristics & site conditions: The Norway maple is native throughout southern Germany and extremely site-tolerant – it grows on acidic as well as calcareous soils, on fresh as well as moderately dry soils. In urban locations, it tolerates compaction and road salt better than many other deciduous trees. It can still be cultivated without problems at elevations up to 1,000 m. During prolonged extreme drought on shallow soils, it increasingly shows drought stress – but on fresh sites it remains robust.
Advantages: Native and ecologically valuable, early bee forage, highly adaptable on many soils, attractive autumn foliage, resilient in urban climates, fast growth, proven as an avenue tree.
Disadvantages: Requires a lot of space, seeds germinate in large numbers and can become a nuisance, increasingly susceptible on extremely dry sites, sooty bark disease is a growing problem in warmer areas, not a woody plant for small gardens.
