Which maple trees would be included in the group of narrowly columnar habits? I think of A. saccharum 'Newton Sentry' and 'Temple's Upright' although the latter is much less narrow. A. cappidocicum ssp lobelii actually seems to have a pretty good spread when it gets going. A. platanoides 'Columnare' is according to Esveld "not truly fastigiate". What others are there? Are there any Japanese or Chinese maples that would be considered fastigiate? -E
Nothing on your Chinese radar, Michael? Interesting, looking just now at Newton Sentry (while searching for Reba in Maples for Gardens), I see that in the picture from Morris Arboretum the central trunk is visible high off the ground. Yet according to that attached "Lack of a single central trunk above six feet from the ground" is a key for recognizing it, making this a different tree altogether! On this page, with a picture of Reba, is another upright form: A. rubrum 'Red Rocket.' Thanks Ron. http://www.jfschmidt.com/catalogphotos/1011/index.html Some other interesting cultivars (and some less interesting) on the page.
Hey Emery- Would Acer palmatum 'Tsukasa silhouette' qualify? My 1 year old graft is a single trunk to 4 feet now and I plan to prune to exagerate this growth pattern as well. Enclosed is picture. http://www.shadownursery.com/assets/plant-images/TsukasaSilhouette_large.jpg Justin
I believe the most narrow of all is Acer saccharum 'Monumentale' Here a link: http://www.buchholznursery.com/plant_page.html?id=cfda3
Thanks K4. Monumentale is according to MOW a synonym for 'Temple's Upright', which is meant to be less narrow than 'Newton Sentry.' @Justin, I've never heard of Tsukasa Silhouette before, is it supposed to keep that shape? -E
Ron and I had a good discussion before in regards to Monumentale and Columnare. If we look enough at photos on the internet there is some variance in what is perceived to be Temple's Upright, Newton Sentry, Monumentale and Columnare. I do not do well with abbreviated names so, the MOW reference has no meaning to me. I do know that the Antoine le Hardÿ de Beaulieu Maples book does show photos of the Newton Sentry and the Temple's Upright as I recall from memory at Hillier's (also from memory) that I remember them as being. This is not to say that the Monumentale and the Columnare that were once in the Pacific northwest are the same Maples. I've had all four at one time, brought them in for clients and feel at this time that what has been proposed as being one Maple may not be the right name for the right plant. I greatly value Ron's opinion and realize that he may not have seen the same Maples as I have, so what I learned to be named Monumentale in the nursery trade can very well be a misnamed plant but I personally feel the Newton Sentry is a different plant where I've seen both grown. The overall shapes are quite similar but the overall width, spreads, are not. This could be due in part to how one tree may look like in the Pacific northwest looks different than what that same Maple may look like here grown in the Foothills. We have these type issues with the aurea and glauca forms anyway. In Conifers in that the aurea forms in the Pacific northwest develop stronger gold tones than they do here and the glauca forms are noticeably more silvery blue in color here than they are in most areas of the Pacific northwest. I'll go along with Newton Sentry and Temple's Upright names but these are not the names I learned at first. I first knew of Columnare and Monumentale. Ron knows how I feel about the name nana being attached to a number of Pines. I know his point of view and respect it and as a purist agree with it but he has to take into account mine as well as I still have some of those Pines that were officially called and named in the nursery trade before the target date to which no more Pines are allowed to have this name. Do we rename Pinus parviflora glauca nana when I have both Pinus parviflora glauca and Pinus parviflora glauca nana and know how they are different from one another? Pinus strobus nana is still my most favorite of all of the Eastern White Pines as a universal landscape tree. I adore that Pine!!!! Sylvestris nana is quite a bit different than the other "Scotch" (Scots) Pine dwarfs are. Nigra nana and Nigra hornibrookiana and Hornibrookiana nana are quite a bit different - needle length and needle color as well as growth habits. It is not my fault these Pines are not so easy to find, any more, so people can finally see them. If the rootstocks used for Newton Sentry and Temple's Upright were consistent it might be real interesting to see how those plants match up to the old Monumentale and Columnare in the Pacific northwest and elsewhere (west) on the same rootstocks. Could be that one tree may be a created form or variant form of a previous Maple and in today's world with so little history of previous cultivars known to naming sources, they can easily be fooled and have been a few times over in the palmatum type Maples alone is my gripe with them and their naming conventions - just my opinion. I’ve asked the question which came first Columnare or Temple’s Upright and the people I’ve asked out west say Columnare did! I will say that the photos yweride posted in the Maple photo galley are of the same Maple I knew of well enough in Oregon. So, be that as it may I know of the Momumentale Buchholz & Buchholz nursery is selling and have had for a while. I’ve seen that particular Maple in the collection photo, who else has? Now compare that photo to the photos in the de Beaulieu book and see what you think. I do not approve of a naming everything as even the old guard in Maples still called all known forms of Kasigiyama - Kasagiyama. As a few people felt that the aka, shiro and the beni forms did not deserve official recognition of which by the way clears the way for these old plants to be given new names by those people that have never seen one, never been around one and never have grown one to begin with. They were called aka shiro and beni in the nurseries that had them but these were nursery names only. Much like Don’s Big Red nursery name in the US and sent to Japan for evaluation being named Oshu beni years later in Japan and even today people cannot tell the difference between Osyu beni and Oshu beni. They are as different as cheese and chalk. One is a deeply divided Maple and the other is a palmate. One is a nigrum group red and the other is a nomura group red. One is a standard size Maple and the other is a semi-dwarf. Emery, I’ve seen some pruned Twombly’s Red Sentinel that to some people may be considered very close to being a variant form of the old fastigiate Nuresagi but was not purported by Twombly nursery to have come about from Nuresagi if I remember right and yes, the fastigiate form (selected through seedling selection) of Nuresagi still exists in a couple of select collections. Jim
Emery- I am unsure if this cultivar will keep its form as advertised as the oldest one I know is a 2 year graft that is 4 feet x 1.5 feet with all side branches columnar so far. I will prune and shape mine to accentuate this form and will sustain from taking any scions for a time as well. The verdict is out but I will try to keep forum updated on 'Tsukasa silhouette'. Justin
I really like the shape of 'Tsukasa silhouette' Probably won't be able to find it in Canada. I have access to red sentinel young trees 5 ft with a single trunk. I am going to try to shape the Sentinel to keep it narrow and single trunk like the Tsukasa in the picture. If anyone know where I can get a 'Tsukasa silhouette' in Canada. Please let me know.
See the account given under A. saccharum 'Newton Sentry' on page 58 of A.L. Jacobson's 1996 Ten Speed Press book North American Landscape Trees: In 1954, B. Harkness proposed the name A. saccharum 'Newton Sentry' to replace F.L. Temple's name A. saccharum 'Columnare', since the latter was hopelessly confused in the nursery trade with Temple's A. saccharum 'Monumentale'. The confusion has remained, and even authoritative books and reputable nurseries continue to bungle the names and descriptions...
I can only speak from pretty limited experience but JM Okushimo has been the narrowest of my varieties. I am not sure if it meets your definition of "columnar" but I seem to hear it described as "vaselike" in growth. This picture (not mine) is a pretty good example of what I am talking about: http://www.lichtenfelt.com/_gallery/tree_farm/gallery_55.htm
Jim, by MOW I mean Maples of the World. I think you make a great point about rootstock variation leading to eventual variation in the plant. I find myself constantly going on about this but sometimes I feel like a voice in the wilderness... It's true that from the picture in The Illustrated Guide and that from the Buccholz site, these could easily be different trees. But there are so many factors, culture, airflow, age, etc that I certainly couldn't draw any conclusion from the pictures. Paxi, thanks that's an interesting maple that I didn't know before. Ron, the naming of Newton Sentry seems very well documented as the original plant in Newton MA is well known. Perhaps I'm missing context from Jacobson, is he proposing a different genesis? The pdf I posted earlier dates the name to around 1900. One thing is for sure, the naming of these maples is hopelessly confused. Just noticed two other fastigiate sugar maples: A. saccharum 'Goldspire' and 'Cary.' -E
i like Acer saccharum 'Monumentale' but it is not for everyones garden. Acer palmatum 'Twombly's Red Sentinel' is another very good narrow maple