Acer Griseum
Acer Griseum, absolutely outstanding
For ornamental value in the garden the Japanese and Chinese Acer is high on the list of must have plants.Grown for their attractive foliage of red, gold, variegated forms and many with fantastic Autumn colour, it is easy to understand the popularity of this plant.
One superb slow growing Acer which in fact is not so much grown for the leaves (which do in fact turn an outstanding scarlet in Autumn) but for the magnificent peeling bark is Acer Griseum (paper bark maple) The peeling bark is at its best in late Spring and Summer, a rich cinnamon colour, the dark green leaves in Autumn turn first orange to red and scarlet.
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Height – Listed as reaching 30 ft. Although it grows well in Aberdeen, if you plant it when you are 20 it may have reached 20 ft by the time you are 60 years old
Soil – Fertile moist but well drained soil neutral/acid
Position – Full sun/partial shade
This picture of Acer Griseum below was taken when I visited Cruickshanks Botanic gardens last Summer. This is how I would hope to see our one one day.
Listed below are several more Acers which perform extremely well in our garden in Aberdeen.
Acer Palmatum Ozakazuki
Ozakazuki has large deeply lobed pale fresh green leaves in Spring which darken as the Summer progresses. In Autumn, and continuing in to early Winter, expect an outstanding display when the foliage turns fiery red.Grow in moist but well drained fertile soil, in sun or partial shade. Slow growing, expected to reach eight feet after ten years. Eventual height is said to be twenty feet, (I doubt if it would reach that height in Aberdeen)
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Acer Palmatum Atropurpureum
Atropurpureum with its red/purple leaves, absolutely fantastic. In Autumn the leaves then turn a brilliant scarlet, who says foliage is boring. Eventual height is said to be around 500cm, once again it would take many years to reach that height in Aberdeen.
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Acer Palmatum Dissectum
For a dwarf variety look out for Acer Palmatum Dissectum Crimson Queen. This low growing mound forming Acer with its rich purple finely cut leaves is outstanding, grows to 120cm. Also grows well in containers, and it got the RHS award of garden merit, fantastic.
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Acer Aconitifolium
The first shrub in the garden to show true Autumn colour is Acer Aconitifolium, also known as the full moon maple. This beautiful Acer has been given The Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious Award of garden merit. It makes a spreading, bushy tree or large shrub with deeply lobed mid-green leaves that turn a rich orange/red early in the autumn. It also produces masses of small, red-purple flowers which are followed by winged seed-heads.
A great shrub for adding architectural interest.Like most maples, Aconitifolium enjoys a sunny or partially shaded spot that is protected from cold winds. The soil should be moist but well-drained.
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Height – 400cm
Position – Full sun/partial shade
As You may have gathered we just love the Japanese Acers. Plant them where they do not catch the early morning sun and you will have as much success with them in the north east of Scotland as we have had.
If you happen to leave a comment I will be sure to visit your site and do the same
Carol, pleased to have you on board, hope the move goes well. Acers grow fabulously in pots, check out Acer Disectum, you could go for a red leafed one and a green. Good luck
I live in Dundee at the moment managed to get it looking good now lm moving back to my hometown of Grimsby, will have to start over again. Looking at everything you have done l now know l’m just a newbie to compared to you all! I will be renting a house for a while so my garden for the moment will mostly be grown in pots. I was wondering if there is a dwarf maple l could grow in a pot until I get my own place. I grew some sort of bush about 17yrs ago. I grew it in a pot the leaves changed lovely colours throughout the seasons and in the summer had small red flowers. I loved it but for the life of me I can’t remember it’s name! I hope it’s ok to follow you and find some plants that will give me a garden like yours! ?x
Diana, thanks again for more information on commentluv
Alistair – you might like to point out to your readers, now you’ve installed CommentLuv, each reader needs to register. Then it will work for them on any blog which has CommentLuv installed. It is a gracious way to thank readers for commenting by linking to their latest post. There is a link just below this comment box.
We had a paper-bark Commiphora in the last garden. Grew them from seed and had masses. Two Japanese maples still in the first they sleep stage.
Rebecca, fortunately our Sycamore is about 45 yards from the house.
Great post! Now I definitely want to add the paperbark Maple to my yard. I saw your comment about having to trim down a Sycamore… We had one die in a small city lot where we lived at one time. It towered above our 2 story home–you can imagine how much it cost to have it removed! Sycamores are great trees, but probably belong in a rural setting 🙂
Yes you learn more while you share your knowledge with others.
Thanks Eliza and good luck with your carnival.
Wonderfully thorough post on maples… you had me at “hello” with that gorgeous bark photo. I don’t think I’d care if the rest of the tree looked like a bald stick if I had something that pretty standing in the garden (but of course, the rest of the tree is equally stunning).
Thanks Janet, Acers really are ideal for the smaller garden.
Fer, Atropurpureum does add good Summer colour to the garden.
Beautiful trees! such amazing colors they display. If i ever have the space I would like to add a Atropurpureum to my current japanese maple
Hi Alistair, good post, acers are one of my favourite trees for a small garden. I loved your photo of Acer palmatum atropurpureum, though it made me sad, I lost mine a couple of years ago to disease. griseum is high on my wishlist for any future garden I have.
Thanks Carolyn, I will check out the coral bark maple.
Thanks for the post! I love the colors on the Ozakazuki. I will have to keep this in mind!
Beautiful show of colourful foliage and great shots of them Alistair!
An excellent post. Although I don’t have space to grow them, I really love Japanese maples. I always wonder the botanical name of the paperbark tree. Thanks and you have lovely photos of lovely trees!
I too love Japanese maples. An extremely wide range of cultivars are available in my area so it is very hard to resist. I just don’t visit nurseries that specialize in Japanese maples any more so I won’t be tempted. One of my first posts on Nov. 10, 2010, was about coral bark maple, Acer p. ‘Sango-kaku’, a true four season plant. You would love it. I really think your photo of the bark of the paperbark is the best I have seen—love that color.
Edith, A mature Griseum is indeed a glorious sight.
Donna, I had to call in the tree surgeon just the other day to reduce the size of a Sycamore which had grown just to big
lovely Acers…I have always wanted a paperbark maple and plan to pklant one if I lose one of my mature trees…a couple are in serious trouble…
Dear Alistair, The Acer family is indeed very splendid with a tree or shrub for most situations in most gardens. And I do so love the Acer Griseum which I feel makes a good choice for a small garden and has such a wonderfully tactile bark. Wonderful when placed near to a pathway so that one is able to touch it each time one walks by!
Thanks Chris, The Japanese Maples are one of the first to show their leaves here. A while off yet though.
Thanks Larry, isn’t it strange, the Maples never struggle here, yet the Magnolias just wont have it.
Donna, The paperbark maple is top of my list also.
The paperbark maple is a favorite of mine for year round interest, but I really have a soft spot for the Japanese maples. One is my logo for my design business, and I design one in almost all my projects.
Excellent post Alistair… I put many new maples in this past fall and hope they get through the winter… pretty much borderline plants here. One was a six foot Ozakazuki. A friend recommended this as having great fall color, but mine really didn’t color up this past fall. The acer griseums do very well here but are only now becoming more available… I have a row of four which I really love. Larry
Good profile on excellent trees! Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum) deserves more consideration and Japanese Maples are favorites for good reason.