![]() They turn rather late, after peak leaf-peeper season, and barring a hard freeze and strong winds to shake them loose, the leaves hold a long time.īut eventually they drop, and-Ta da! A clear shot of that fabulous bark once again. The leaves look a lot like poison ivy once they expand.Īnd in the fall, in a good year, they turn the color of sun-dried tomatoes. The leaves come out with the flowers and have a butterscotch tint. Paperbark maple’s pale yellow flowers emerge in the frenzy of spring, when we gardeners have a lot on our plates, and they often get overlooked. The usual hues are more chestnut- or copper-toned. This honey-colored beauty almost looks like a river birch. Though the shaggy forms are the most striking. Wondering why your maple leaves are dropping in early June Jeff Burbrink, Purdue Extension Educator, discusses a common problem with maple trees in Elkhart. Once in a while you’ll find one with a blocky pattern. The maple is a genus with about 128 different species, including the vine maple (Acer circinatum), hornbeam maple (Acer carpinifolium), and paperbark maple (Acer griseum). Or it can look like it was clawed up by a particularly spiteful cat. It can be relatively smooth and shiny, peeling just enough to catch the late afternoon light. The bark can actually vary quite a lot, and every tree is one of a kind. I’ll call you ‘gray maple.'” (Okay, maybe he didn’t have a specimen like this to look at, but come on, man! Do your homework.) ![]() Please tell me how you can look at this bark and then say, “Hmm… that’s nice, but I notice your leaves appear sort of grayish on the undersides. We hardly get enough rain to wash all the Meconopsis betonicifolia pollen off the sidewalks-let alone do any real irrigating.įerdinand Pax, a German botanist, was the numbskull who named this tree Acer griseum ( griseum=“gray”). ![]() True, our plants are spoiled with a milder climate than most, but it should be noted that in summer, it’s dry. In fact, here in Portland I see it used everywhere as a street tree, forced to tough it out in many a parched hellstrip-and performing like a champ. This year, it was the last of all my trees to get its leaves and it only filled in a portion of the tree. It wants full sun but can handle light shade, and it’s not fussy about soils. Of the 7, my favorite is the Paperbark Maple. (The other two are gardening after dark by the light of your car headlights, and asking for manure for your birthday.)īut novice gardeners can get in on the fun, too, because the choice paperbark maple ( Acer griseum) is surprisingly easy to grow. Planting a paperbark maple is one thing you must do to be considered a Serious Gardener.
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