What is your favorite pseudoplatanus cultivar?

Discussion in 'Maples' started by prairiestyle, May 20, 2009.

  1. prairiestyle

    prairiestyle Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Hello everyone,

    I've got a spot perfect for a pseudoplatanus cultivar, but I'm having one heck of a time making up my mind on which one to get. Leaves with variegation or bright spring color are all appealing to me.

    So, in your personal opinion, which cultivar really stands out? Many have seemingly similar characteristics (Brilliantissimum vs. Prinz Handjery vs. Puget Pink - or Esk(imo) Sunset vs. Prince Camille de Rohan vs. Leopoldii vs. Simon Louis Freres - etc.) but having never seen them in person it's hard to figure out which one to go with. Which one(s) really impress you?


    Christian
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2009
  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Re: What is your favorite pseduoplatanus cultivar?

    A very old and large specimen of the wild type is by far the nicest!
     
  3. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Re: What is your favorite pseduoplatanus cultivar?

    first Nietzii,second Brillantissimun.........................Eskimo sunset..........Leopoldii.......P.Hardey
    ciao
     
  4. katsura

    katsura Active Member 10 Years

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    Christian,
    I love the variegated pseudoplatanuses and I have pretty much all of them that are in this coun-
    try and choosing 1 is like choosing the favorite of your children but why I choose Eskimo Sunset
    is the loveliness of looking up from below into the leaves & canopy on a sunny day. The trans-
    lucence of the variegation coming thru the purple underside is breathtaking. The variegated
    pseudos almost remind me of Jackson Pollock gone nuts splashing white paint on green with his
    paintbrush. All the pink first blush of pleated leaves on Brilliantissimum & Puget etc are delicately
    lovely but they stay that way far too briefly whereas the variegates are all Spring & Summer.
    Good luck and Go Huskers!
     
  5. emery

    emery Renowned Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    If you can plant only one, be careful that it's not going to get too large for it's location.

    Although I love the pink-leafed cultivars like brilliantissimum, it's true they are only
    spectacular for a short time.

    Of the variagates, it makes sense to differentiate between those that have purple
    leaf undersides, (a la atropurpureum). Simon Louis Freres, for example doesn't have
    this feature so the leaves are less interesting from below than say Esk Sunset. But SLF
    comes out a dark pink that lasts for a very long time, so the variegation is quite unique.
    Esk has the feature that the underside is only purple where the surface is green. This
    makes for a very "Pollock" display, as Mike mentions. However the tree seems vigorous,
    I wonder how big it will get. Same is true for Prince Camille, a fast grower with even
    darker undersides and more tern than Esk or SLF. Brigada Rev is very small with solid
    bright purple undersides and an almost orange/cream leaf color, only somewhat splashed
    with dark green. IIRC Nizetti also has the atropurpureum aspect but the purple is not
    as bright as Brigada, nor is the cream color the same. And of course Nizetti and Leopoldii
    will make very large trees eventually.

    -E
     
  6. prairiestyle

    prairiestyle Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    The eventual size of the tree is why I can choose only one. Thank you all for your input, it's nice to read the opinions of other maple-lovers and hear about the different characteristics that appeal to different people. The descriptions are wonderful (Pollock-like!), they really help convey the beauty of the trees.

    Do the trees with pink spring color mature to a distinctive shade of green? Though in all likelihood I'll go with a variegate (sorry Michael, I had my mind set on a cultivar) - the point that the variegation is noticeable both spring and summer is a good one. Of the ones with purple on the underside of the leaf, is there much difference in the patterns of variegation on the top, or is the difference more in the emerging and mature color of the creamy/yellow areas? It's hard to determine from online photo searching. Also, is Nizetti available in the US? Since I'm looking for a tree that gets big, I'll leave Brigada Rev off the list (and based on an earlier thread I don't think I can get one).

    Katsura - With Osborne back in control as AD, hopefully things will only get better!
     
  7. emery

    emery Renowned Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Christian, how much sun does your spot get? Prince Camille takes sun really well, but Esk seems to
    burn a little. Of course if Mike can grow it in sun in Novato, it's just that mine isn't established enough
    yet. Trees like SLF and of course Brilliantissimum are very slow growing indeed and need pretty
    heavy shade most of the day.

    I have Brill, Puget Pink, Miracle Rose and Leat's Cottage as pink cultivars. They all bleach out to
    fairly mundane light green, perhaps Brill is the most interesting as the leaves stay quite
    translucent.

    -E
     
  8. prairiestyle

    prairiestyle Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Emery,
    The tree will get mostly dappled shade, with occasional direct sun during the morning and early afternoon hours. From your experience, the growth rates of Esk Sunset and Prince Camille are similar - both vigorous - but Prince Camille takes sun better? Of the two which do you prefer solely based on the aesthetics of the tree? I know it's not really a fair question to ask a collector, as every tree has it's own merit, I unfortunately just have room for one.
    Thanks!

    Christian
     
  9. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Ah, but what pseudoplatanus cultivar can beat this?! ;-)
     

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  10. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    oh ,oh yesss! i see one similar is in Wakerhust...now i change.. first: old and large speciment ;-)))
     

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