Italian maple

Italian maple: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Medium-sized tree, 10–12 m tall and 8–10 m wide, with a broad, rounded crown; sometimes multi-stemmed.

Leaves

5–10 cm, with three to five broad, shallow lobes; dark green, paler beneath. Yellow to orange in autumn.

Flower

Pale yellow flowers in hanging clusters on long stalks, in March–April, before the leaves break.

Fruit

Winged double fruits with widely spreading wings, ripe in late summer.

Bark

Grey and smooth at first; on older trees rougher and flaking in small plates.

Flowering: March–April · Plants: March–April and October–December · Pruning: July–August

Why grow it?

• One of the finest flowering maples: in early spring the bare tree is hung with yellow clusters.
• An early tree for bees, at a time when there is still little for them to find.
• Copes well with chalky and rather dry soil.
• A broad, rounded crown that casts pleasant shade in summer.
• Yellow to orange autumn colour.

Italian maple: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade; it flowers most freely in sun.
• Loam or clay, neutral to chalky, well drained.
• Dry to moderately moist; it will not tolerate wet feet.
• It grows wide: allow 8–10 m of space and plant it at least 6 m from buildings.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

12 m tall, 10 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -23 °C)

Goes well with

• Lenten rose: Flowers in the same early spring beneath the crown and likes chalky soil.
• Glory-of-the-snow: Blue stars beneath the bare branches, together with the tree’s yellow flowers.
• Lesser periwinkle: Evergreen ground cover for the dry shade under the tree.
• Wild daffodil: Yellow spring flowers that naturalise in the grass beneath the crown.

Italian maple: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–December.

1. Plant in March–April or from October to December, when the soil is not frozen or waterlogged.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and loosen the bottom so that water can drain away.
3. Set the tree at the same depth as it was in the pot: the root flare should stay just visible.
4. Secure a standard tree to a stake on the windward side and tie it loosely.
5. Water well straight away, then weekly in dry spells during the first year.
6. Spread a mulch of wood chips round the base, keeping it off the trunk.

Care

Water

In dry spells during the first and second years. After that it copes well with dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed; a little compost in spring on poor soil is enough.

Mulching

A layer of wood chips round young trees keeps the soil cool and weeds down.

Underplanting

Plant spring flowers and shade plants beneath the crown while the tree is still young.

Trunk

Gradually remove the lowest side branches if you want to walk beneath the crown.

Tip: Plant it where you can see it from the house in March: the bare tree full of yellow clusters is one of the first signs of spring in the garden, and a feast for bees.

Italian maple: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July–August.

When: Prune only when needed, in July–August, when the tree is in full leaf.

How:

• Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches, just outside the branch collar.
• Cut out water shoots and suckers at the base of the trunk.
• To raise the crown, remove one or two low branches each year rather than all at once.
• Saw off large branches in two stages to stop the bark tearing.

Caution: Do not prune from January to May: maples ‘bleed’ heavily from the wounds then, and you would cut off the flowers.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow ripe seed in a pot in autumn and stand it outside in the cold; the seedlings come up in spring.

Grafting

Special forms are grafted by nurseries onto a seedling of the same species.

Italian maple: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −23 °C.

• Hardy to about −23 °C: in Belgium an established tree needs no protection.
• The early flowers can be frosted by a hard night frost in March; the tree itself is not harmed.
• Wrap young potted trees in hessian and stand them against a wall.

Diseases and pests

• Verticillium wilt: Branches suddenly wilt in summer, with brown streaks in the wood. Cut them well back into healthy wood and disinfect your secateurs; there is no cure.
• Aphids: Sticky young leaves in May–June. Ladybirds usually clear them up; otherwise hose them off with water.
• Coral spot: Small pinkish-orange pustules on dead twigs. Cut dead wood back into healthy wood.
• Frosted flowers: Brown, shrivelled clusters after a cold night in March. Nothing to be done; it will flower again next year.

Through the year

• March: Pale yellow flower clusters on the bare branches; bees. Plant.
• April: Flowering, then the leaves break. Plant.
• May: Watch for aphids. Top up the mulch.
• June: Water young trees in dry spells.
• July: Prune if needed.
• August: Last pruning. Water in dry spells.
• October: Yellow to orange autumn colour. Plant. Sow ripe seed.
• November: Plant.
• December: Plant in frost-free weather.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Its French name means ‘maple with guelder rose leaves’, because the leaf shape is somewhat similar.
• Unlike most maples, its flowers are genuinely ornamental: the clusters hang on long stalks from the still-bare branches.
• In its home mountains it often grows in mixed broadleaved woods on steep, dry limestone slopes.