Red maple tree, Acer rubrum: profile and care

The red maple (Acer rubrum) is an impressive solitary tree with beautiful foliage. He skilfully stages it, especially in autumn. A red maple tree does not make any special demands on its care.

Characteristics

• Plant family: Sapindales
• Botanical name: Acer rubrum
• German names: red maple, red maple tree, Canadian red maple
• Growth: loose, upright, conical
• Height: 1000-1500 cm
• Foliage: dark green, shedding leaves
• Blossom: simple, red, in clusters, before leaves shoot
• Flowering period: March to April
• Fruits: red-brown nuts
• Toxicity: not toxic
• Lime tolerance: lime tolerant

Site conditions

Acer rubrum wants a sheltered and sunny to shady place. The sunnier, the more splendid the autumn colors. Nevertheless, it should not be exposed to the blazing midday sun in summer. At best, it stands free, for example in the middle of a lawn. Even cold locations with an easterly wind cannot harm it. Basically, this maple can also cope with partially shaded places, but then at the expense of flower formation and leaf color.

Tip: When choosing the location, one should also consider the rapid increase in height and width as well as the final size of the maple tree. It is best to leave about ten meters free around the tree.

Soil condition

The demands on the condition of the floor are somewhat less demanding. This maple tolerates almost any good garden soil that is rich in nutrients and humus, deep, low in lime and fresh to moist. It can be sandy to loamy and neutral to acidic. What he doesn't like are compacted, waterlogging, permanently dry and heavy substrates.

planting

The best time to plant is in the spring after the ice saints. Specimens in the container can be planted all year round, as long as the ground is not frozen and temperatures do not exceed thirty degrees.

• first dig a sufficiently large planting hole
• at least twice as deep and wide as the root ball
• Loosen the soil well in the planting hole
• Mix about a third of the excavated earth with compost
• Take the plant out of the pot
• Place in the center of the planting hole
• Align the tree straight
• Fill up with excavated earth, step on the earth
• Drive in three support posts at a distance of 30 cm from the trunk
• Connect with coconut rope to protect against strong winds
• Finally, water the planting area thoroughly
• The pouring edge can prevent the pouring water from flowing away

Note: If possible, red maple trees that are already four or five years old should no longer be replanted. Better to think about the right location before planting.

Need-based care

In order for your red maple tree to grow and thrive, you should follow a few tips.

to water

Watering is an important part of maintenance. Young trees should be watered regularly in the first years of standing, as soon as the upper soil layer has dried. Ideally, the root area should always be moist, but not wet. Older trees usually only need watering in summer, during longer dry periods. Container plants need more and more water, here the bale dries out much faster.

Fertilize

This maple is one of the heavy consumers. As a result, young trees in particular need sufficient nutrients. Organic fertilizers such as compost, horn shavings or plant manure are ideal. They supply the tree with all the important nutrients for months, as they are only slowly releasing them to the plant. One gift in spring is usually sufficient. In the case of nutrient-rich soils, there is no need to fertilize from the second or third year. In low-nutrient conditions, two fertilizers per year are recommended, the first in early spring and the second in June / July.

Note: Mineral fertilizers are not recommended. They are generally too rich in nutrients, especially too high in nitrogen, which makes them more susceptible to fungal infections.

Cut

Red maple should be cut as little as possible as it has a strong tendency to bleed again. In addition, pathogens can penetrate through cut wounds and weaken the tree. You should only cut if there is a disease or parts of the tree have died.

• Pruning measures only in spring
• Wait for a frost-free phase
• only with sufficiently sharp and disinfected cutting tools
• do not cut into the old wood
• always a few centimeters in front of one eye or a bud
• here the maple sprouts again
• Do not cut branches and twigs directly at the base
• leave small stumps
• they gradually dry up
• Treat cuts and broken branches with wound closure agent
• Gloves are not required, red maple is not poisonous

Overwinter

Acer rubrum has a good one Hardiness. This is especially true of older trees. Young plants and specimens kept in pots are more sensitive. Both need appropriate protection. As early as autumn, the newly created buds are protected from freezing with a fleece. When potted plants are overwintered, the root area must also be protected. To do this, you put it in a protected place and wrap it with jute, fleece or similar insulating materials.

Multiplication

About cuttings

• from the end of spring to the beginning of summer
• Cut off 15-20 cm long semi-lignified cuttings
• of non-blooming shoots
• remove lower leaves
• leave a maximum of the top two pairs of leaves
• Fill small pots with potting soil
• one cutting per pot
• Put about two thirds into the substrate
• Press the earth on and moisten
• Cover the pots and the cuttings with cling film
• place in a warm, partially shaded place
• Transplant after complete rooting

By sowing

A red maple tree can, among other things, be propagated by sowing, which, however, is somewhat more complex than propagating cuttings. The easiest way, however, is to use seeds from an existing maple. They are ripe around the beginning of June. Before sowing, they must be stratified in order to remove the natural inhibition of germination.

• Let the seeds soak in warm water for 24 hours
• then put in a plastic bag with damp sand or lava granules
• Close the bag tightly
• in the refrigerator for eight to twelve weeks at two to five degrees
• then sow in small pots with potting soil or coconut substrate
• about an inch deep
• Moisten the substrate and keep it evenly moist
• place in a warm, partially shaded place
• Germination time approx. three to six weeks

Seeds and seedlings are particularly susceptible to disease and pests. It is therefore advisable to make the potting soil sterile in the oven for about 30 minutes at 150-180 degrees. After cooling, it can be used.

Note: The seeds of this tree not only need cold to germinate, but also a certain water content. Therefore, it is advisable to pre-swell them before stratifying.

Diseases

mildew

Signs of an infestation are initially a floury coating on the leaves and later black-brown discoloration. Affected leaves die off. In the early stages and with smaller trees, however, a milk-water mixture can be helpful for spraying. If the infestation has progressed or the tree is too big, fungicides with a depot effect are ideal.

Verticillium wilt

This fungal disease usually occurs in spring when the first heat wave spreads. Initially, it shows up on parts of the crown or individual shoots. Recognizable by conspicuously small, dry leaves, light leaf color or already dead branches. The disease can sometimes drag on for years. There are no ways to combat it. One can only try to stop them or avert the worst by cutting back the affected parts of the tree into healthy wood and disposing of the clippings accordingly.

Pests

Aphids

Mostly they are black aphids. They cause discoloration on the leaves, which then cripple or die. To combat it, you can spray the wood with soapy water or neem products and use additional beneficial insects.

Scale insects

A red maple tree can be attacked by the woolly cup scale insect. You can recognize them by their small, brown, curved labels. Most of these trees tolerate a scale insect infestation quite well, so that there is no need to control them.

Gall mites

The sucking activity of the mites creates so-called plant galls, knot-shaped or horn-shaped, sometimes conspicuously colored bulges on the leaves. However, control is usually not necessary.

frequently asked Questions