Acer campestre Magic Spring - Field Maple

Acer campestre 'Magic Spring' is a cultivar of field maple that stands out for its magnificent variegated spring foliage. Slow-growing and not very large, with a slightly irregular rounded habit, it catches the eye from spring to autumn with its changing colours. Give it a prominent place, preferably in partial shade and rich, moist soil. This wonderful variety is suitable for gardens of all sizes and adapts well to most regions.

Acer campestre 'Magic Spring' is a horticultural selection, a seedling of the cultivar 'Royal Ruby'. This cultivar is characterised by its small size and variegated foliage that changes colour from spring to autumn. It grows at a rate of about 40 to 50 cm per year, and a mature specimen rarely exceeds 3 m in all directions. The tree develops a wide, dense, rounded, slightly irregular crown. The young spring leaves have an intense red colour, which gradually turns orange and becomes marbled, first green-yellow, then green-white in summer. The foliage colouration is most impressive in late spring and early summer when the tree bears both mature and variegated leaves, as well as vibrant young shoots, contrasting with the light green background. The very discreet flowering occurs in spring, at the same time as the leaves emerge. The small flowers are greenish and clustered in corymbs. In late summer, the fruits called samaras add extra attraction: they are large, bright red, winged fruits that are highly visible against the foliage. Autumn is the third period of extraordinary beauty for this tree when its leaves turn warm and orange before falling.

Native to Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa, Acer campestre is a forest tree rather than a field tree. Over time, this species, which can live well over a century, can develop multiple intertwined trunks, each carrying a dense crown. The slightly glossy foliage of this deciduous maple consists of small, 5 to 10 cm long leaves with 3 to 5 lobes. The milky sap that oozes from the leaves is often observed in this species. Field maple has the hardest wood of any maple species. Its bark is pale grey and fissured. The branches of young trees often have corky, ribbed, insulating bark, used to make perches for poultry, which has earned it the popular name of 'chicken wood'.

Acer campestre 'Magic Spring' is used as a specimen tree in gardens of all sizes, but also in a mixed hedge. It can be highlighted in front of a backdrop of conifers with simple and dark foliage. It can also be associated, in a field hedge, with deciduous spindle trees (Euonymus 'Red Cascade'), large smoke bushes ('Royal Purple', 'Grace'), a botanical rose 'Californica Plena', and hawthorns, for example. Plant shade-loving perennials at its base (dead nettles, Geranium macrorrhizum, Black Ophiopogon) to enjoy its magnificent colours.