To the west of our house is a field where the soil becomes very thin, over a boggy slightly acidic clay. There are a few scrubby oaks growing in it. Most winters it is flooded, with standing water here and there, and boggy under foot. In summer (except not this past one!) it normally dries out and turns into a sort of hard pan. Because it is west it gets strong winds in winter. Grass is happy in this area, and on the edge of it I've planted A. rubrum and A. ginnala, along with some Hamamelis, Corylus and like. I'd like to get some big maples into the field, but they need to be tough and resist root rot. What would be the toughest for these challenging conditions? (Those wishing to answer "alder and willow" need not apply!) Thanks, -E
Acer rubrum should thrive in those conditions...one of its common names is Swamp Maple. Acer saccharinum will tolerate standing water in winter but prefer slightly drier conditions during the summer with only periodic flooding (typical floodplain). Given the first two, there is no reason why Acer x freemanii wouldn't also be suitable. Acer negundo is going to enjoy the same conditions as the Silver Maple.
maple Rubrum Drummondii,Circinatunm,and the King for similar conditions (no maple) Taxodium distichum one the best tree for autum coulor and unusualy roots!!!... Ah !!Populus,Populus Esveld have a nice variegated Populus ,the name is Aurora(that i order for this autum)also Populus nigra Italica.. Ciao
Thanks smivies, I have a silver maple not far that is not really thriving (or growing that big, anyway, but it is an unknown cultivar so maybe that's its habit.) However I did plant negundo "sensation" on the edge of the area, it did very well this year. The only thing I tried in the area itself was a saccharum, which died. How about pycnanthum? Certainly there are a lot of varieties of rubrum to explore... Alex, the spot is both too windy and sunny (exposed) for circinatum to thrive. I think this is true for your pretty poplar (Aurora) also, which incidentally Esveld does not list as being in stock. I do have some lombardy poplars, and white poplars, nearby... I would like to plant P. tremuloides but can't locate a specimen here. As for the King, no maples, not an option! ;) -E
Sugar maple is very intolerant of wet conditions which would explain its failure. A. pycnanthum & circinatum sound like good possibilities. I've seen several stands of vigorous Silver maples in areas where the summer water table is at ~2' but suffering or nonexistent on sites that are less than <2' or flooded for the majority of the growing season. Trembling Aspen has a bit of a suckering habit Aspen clone
'Drummondii' and Crimson King are Norway maples. Here in its native region vine maple "Occurs...on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-rich soils" and is "plentiful and persistent...on water-receiving (alluvial, seepage, and stream-edge sites" (Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia, UBC Press).
Ron, there is a Drummondii cultivar of A. rubrum. No one is referring to Crimson King, Alex was just saying: "The King of all ideas would be to plant something more suitable than an Acer." This soil is certainly not nitrogen rich. I wonder also, would circinatum do well in full sun? -E
That one has a botanical designation, Acer rubrum var. drummondii, common name southern red maple. Cultivars of A. rubrum var. drummondii include 'Live Oak', 'Louisiana Red', 'San Felipe' and 'Edna Davis'. I think the growth of most maples is associated with good fertility. If this service is available there maybe you should sample the soil and have it tested for nutrients, if you haven't already, to get some of its characteristics quantified.
According to Maples of the World pag.236 var. Drummondii(Sargent 1884)grows naturally in Arkansas Texas Louisiana,lower Missipi Valley,southwestern Indiana ,northern Missouri,i have this maple in full sun (i posted pics in Gallery photo) i have (in full sun)Vine maple too ...
