Acer griseum

Acer griseum

Acer griseum is an eye-catching tree that is beautiful all year round but especially in winter when its bare stems are revealed. Visit Battleston Hill to enjoy its flaky, copper-coloured bark. 

Vital statistics

Common name

Paperbark maple

Family

Sapindaceae

Height & spread

10m (30ft) high and wide

Form

Deciduous tree

Soil

Fertile, moist but well-drained, acid

Aspect

Full sun or partial shade

Hardiness

Fully hardy in the British Isles

Acer

This is a genus of about 110 species of mostly deciduous trees and shrubs from Europe, North Africa, North and Central America and Asia. They grow in forests and woodlands with moist climates.

Acer is the Latin name for a maple tree, but the word also means sharp and refers to the hardness of the wood, which the Romans used for spear shafts.

The majority of maples have simple, lobed leaves. In spring they bear small, often greenish-yellow flowers, followed by winged fruits, joined in pairs.

Acers are valued for their foliage, which may be variegated and have spectacular autumn colour; some also have attractive bark.

Large maples can be grown as specimen trees; smaller trees and shrubs are excellent for any garden.
 

Acer griseum

From central China, the paperbark maple is a slow-growing, spreading, deciduous tree valued for its peeling orange-brown bark. The dark green leaves to 10cm (4in) long, divided into three leaflets, turn orange to red and scarlet in autumn. Tiny yellow flowers are carried in hanging clusters during early or mid-spring, followed by brown, winged fruit.

Cultivation

• Grow in fertile, preferably acid, moist but well-drained soil in sun or partial shade.
• Prune in late autumn to mid-winter to remove wayward or crossing shoots and to maintain a healthy permanent shape.
• They may be prone to aphids, mites, scale insects, caterpillars, tar spot, Verticillium wilt, leaf scorch and honey fungus.

Propagation

• Sow seed in situ or in containers as soon as ripe.
• Graft cultivars in late winter, bud in late summer.

AGM

The RHS Woody Plant Committee awarded Acer griseum an Award of Garden Merit and described it as:

'Small spreading deciduous tree with attractive peeling, papery chestnut-brown bark. Leaves with 3 leaflets, downy and whitish beneath, turning brilliant red and orange in autumn. Flowers small.'