Description
Red maple (Acer rubrum)
Quality: P (potted)
Hardly any deciduous tree offers a comparable display of colour across three seasons: red flower clusters in spring even before leaf-out, rich dark green in summer, and a spectacular autumn blaze in scarlet, orange and gold. The North American red maple grows quickly to 12–20 m and, as a specimen tree or avenue tree, creates striking accents in larger gardens and park landscapes.
Climatic characteristics & site conditions:
The red maple is very frost-hardy (down to –35 °C) and copes with southern German winters without any problems. Particularly valuable is its tolerance of moist and periodically waterlogged soils—making it one of the few suitable tree species for floodplains, lowlands and groundwater-near sites, for example in the Alpine foothills or the Rhine Valley. On dry, lime-rich soils—such as those common on the Swabian Jura—it is not the first choice.
Advantages: Exceptionally intense autumn foliage, very frost-hardy, soil-tolerant even on moist sites, fast growth for quick greening, impressive habit.
Disadvantages: Not native, therefore of lower value for native insects and fauna; hardly suitable on dry calcareous soils; requires a lot of space—not for small home gardens; strong root system can affect paving and hardscaping.
