Acer platanoides
| Acer platanoides | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 69' |
| Width: | 49' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
Acer platanoides (common name: norway maple)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it usually germinates in the following spring. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify for 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°c. It can be slow to germinate. The seed can be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it has dried and produced any germination inhibitors) and sown immediately. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all[1][2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions.
Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus.
Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting, rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter.
Cultivars can be budded onto rootstocks of the species. Any grafting is best carried out in September rather than February.
Cultivation: Of easy cultivation, it prefers a good moist well-drained soil but thrives in any soil[3][4]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a sunny position but tolerates some shade[3][5]. One report says that plants tolerate chalky soils[5], but another says that plants can develop chlorosis as a result of iron deficiency when they are grown in alkaline soils. Trees are very tolerant of atmospheric pollution[6].
The Norway maple is a quick-growing tree that has been widely planted in Britain and is more or less naturalized. There are many named forms that have been selected for their ornamental value[3].
Norway maple is a bad companion plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants[7][8].
The leaves are seldom eaten or defaced by insects because the tree contains a sharp milky juice that they dislike[9].
Trees take 30 years to produce seed[10].
Range: Europe, from Scandanavia to the Urals and the Mediterranean, east to W.Asia. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat: Grows on all but very poor soils in Britain[4].
Edibility: The sap contains a certain amount of sugar and can either be used as a drink, or can be concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water[9][11][12]. The syrup is used as a sweetener on many foods. The concentration of sugar is considerably lower than in the sugar maples (A. saccharum)[13]. The tree trunk is tapped in the early spring, the sap flowing better on warm sunny days following a frost. The best sap production comes from cold-winter areas with continental climates.
Usage: The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them[7][8].
The trees are fairly wind tolerant and are often used in to give protection from the wind in mixed shelterbelts[5]. They are fast-growing and rapidly produce a screen[5].
A rose coloured dye is obtained from the bark[14].
Wood - hard, heavy, fine grained. Used for small domestic items[9][15][16][17].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Gordon, A and D Rowe. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. 1982.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.