Hello, I have been following the maple forum for a while and now that my garden is coming into shape, I am happy to be able to take part in it! I would love some help to pick out 3 or 4 maples to shade the sun sensitive cultivars. Therefore, I am looking for non bushy upright trees (at least 4m high, but not giant trees since my garden is rather small) with a broad canopy. They will be planted in full sun in a southwest exposure in Loire-Atlantique in France. We have quite strong winds over there. I already have a Seiryu and a standard palmatum. Thank you!
Hi Julie and welcome to the maples forum. My recommendation is for the Acer pseudoplatinus species trees to give shade. There are three that I like a lot. Esk Sunset, Brilliantissimum and Simon-Louis Freres. I have the first two btw. All three would give your delicate Japanese maples some welcome shade. They give a good canopy and can be kept at a size you want with selective pruning. Yes they can get very large if left alone, but that is up to the gardener. This is a link to photos of Esk Sunset https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc....latanus-esk-sunset-a-k-a-eskimo-sunset.25490/ This a link to Simon-Louis Freres https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/acer-pseudoplatanus-simon-louis-freres.39995/ This is a link to Brilliantissimum https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/acer-pseudoplatanus-brilliantissimum.6949/
Thank you, Derek. The pseudoplatanus seem pretty slow growing and erect from what I read? I'll keep an eye out for Esk Sunset though, I find it particularly beautiful. Any idea for an acer with a spreading habit and sun tolerant? To replace the parasols☺ How do Kinran, Nuresagi, Aoyagi, Ichigyo Ji, Mirte, Yasemin and Ki Hachijo fare in full sun? Trompenburg could be an option too... I have browsed the forum a lot, but I'm not sure they have the right shape. I was attracted to Germaine's Gyration, but it doesn't seem to grow tall enough.
Hi Julie, all those you mentioned are either low growing or need some protection from the sun. Of course if you purchase a high grafted variety, then you will get the height you want. Trompenburg is a good idea though and can get to a nice height for you fairly quickly. Green Trompenburg is also an option to go with Trompenburg and would give a nice look. If you want the dark reds, then Bloodgood, Atropurpureum, Red Flash, O kagami, Sumi nagashi etc etc do well in full sun. If you want a juice full sun yellow then I would recommend Summer Gold. This one is a good fast grower and handled 38°c full sun in my garden last year, without any problems at all. Another that I have found to be particularly good in full sun with a lovely colour is Red Wine. A reasonably fast grower as well. Just to mention, that if you are prepared to spend a few extra euros, you can get a good size and healthy specimen without the need to wait for it to establish. And tbh a good percentage of 2 year grafts purchased often don't make it through to 3 years. So a false economy!!? Hope this of help
In the red department, I really like Sumi Nagashi as it looks more airy and delicate. I have a beautiful Summer Gold in full sun, its leaves are getting a bit scorched right now, but it was planted last fall only, so I'll give it time to get established. I agree with you, I am planning to buy bigger shading trees in order to protect right away the smaller ones and give those time to grow. It's not easy to find pictures of mature maples. There are so many leave close-ups, yet so few full shots.
Hi Julie, thought I'd chip in. An important question is how close to the ocean are you? Do you get any salt wind in other words. A. pseudoplatanus does resist these winds well, as you probably know. Firstly, sorry I don't agree about planting Esk Sunset or Simon Louis Frères (a lovely French maple!) in full sun. They both burn. The latter anyway is quite sparse, and doesn't provide good shade. If you want a variegated sycomore that is a fast grower and does well in sun, I recommend Prince Camille de Rohan. It does eventually get very big though. Brilliantissimum is an interesting suggestion, but you'd have to buy quite a large one to have it fulfill purpose any time soon. A more economical solution to Brilliantissimum is Prinz Hanjery. Another very fine variegated sycomore for your purposes would be Nizettii. I think Trompenburg is not that upright, and not super fond of sun either, or at least not here. O kagami, Atropurureum (the cultivar), Bloodgood (the real version) are great in sun. Mirte and Kinran are more bushy than upright, though sun isn't a problem. Aoyagi is quite a slow grower. I might suggest Sango kaku as upright (but columnar) and good in sun, or Osakazuki, which is a good grower. Generally speaking, palmatum grows faster than amoenum. You might consider some of the alternatives from the Acer species that can retain a smaller size: A. cappadocicum 'Aureum' (fine in sun but slow), A. truncatum, A. pictum ssp mono, A. platanoides 'Princeton Gold', A. longipes, etc. So true! Cheers, -E
Hi Emery, Thanks for your input! I am far enough from the ocean to get salty winds, thankfully^^ I have a young Sango kaku in the ground. Do you think Sumi Nagashi would work? I'll try to find an Osakazuki in the flesh to see if I like the tree, it could be a good option! I'll contact the Choteau nursery in case they have ideas.
I guess Sumi nagashi will do better with some shade, not in full sun. No question Benoit (or Alexandre) will give you good advice. And the best quality available here. Good luck!
As shading tree, may i suggest acer buergerianum ? Full sun , 41° improved in Bordeaux and no disease at all. Very fast grower in porous soil (avoid clay). It has adapted and less afraid of frost than most poeple said. I have used it during 20 years as shading tree near my house.
yes to Ozakazuki, great option, full sun and meets your height requirements. Also the Atrolineare very good choice or height specs and sun tolerant, beautiful veriegated colours thru out the growing season. Also it is very "tropical" looking with its thin linears leaf structure. The Butterfly also is a nice upright veriegated choice
Thank you Otto. It seems I just have to source a mature Osakazuki now :) I happened to see an Atrolineare just this weekend, it has beautiful leaves. There was also a Scolopendrifolium, but it seems it grows less tall. How about Nuresagi, Inazuma and Yezo nishiki? I guess Ueno Yama doesn't work in sunny conditions? I've heard contradictory statements about its tolerance.
Hello, I was wondering if planting Doorenbos birches would be compatible with maples nearby, since they have a dense and superficial root system?
Hi Julie, I planted 4 Betula Snow Queens a few years back to give my delicate maples some shade and it has worked very well in my garden in the South of England. So IMO the Doorenbos birch is also a very good companion for maples.
Hi, yes I have a 'Doorenbos' with 4 maples and another couple of shrubs (Stachyurus, Clerodendron) growing quite close. No problems at all. Other birches besides B. utilis seem fine also.
Perfect, thank you! I'll probably go down that road for the most sunny spot. They should offer a nice contrast and provide more space since they have such a narrow base. I have enquired about mature Inazumas and Nuresagis at Choteau for now. The trees are costly, but the price of shipping might be worse since they are pretty far...
