Acer platanoides Maculatum - Norway Maple

Acer platanoides 'Maculatum' is a variety of Norway Maple with delicately variegated foliage. The wide and lobed leaves are medium green and are distinguished by their cream-yellow variegation which is also subtly dispersed across the entire leaf surface. The medium-sized tree develops a loose and rounded crown that turns orange-yellow in autumn. Plant it in ordinary, well-drained soil that is deep enough to accommodate its strong root system.

Native to the Caucasus region and widely distributed in Europe from Scandinavia to Spain and eastwards to Russia, Acer platanoides is a large deciduous tree with rapid growth often associated with oak, lime, and elm in upland forests. The 'Maculatum' cultivar develops a loose and rounded crown and reaches a height of 7m at 10 years old with a spread of 4 to 5m. Its foliage is deciduous. The leaves are opposite, palmate, 10 to 20 cm long, with 5 to 7 very sharp, toothed lobes. The leaves, carried on long petioles, are smooth and glossy. They are green, delicately variegated with cream-yellow. The inconspicuous flowering occurs in the form of upright corymbs of tiny yellow-green flowers before bud burst, in March, on plants aged 15 to 20 years. It is followed, in June, by winged, 3 to 5 cm long fruits called samaras. The bark of this tree is brown, almost smooth and marked with numerous shallow longitudinal cracks.

Acer platanoides 'Maculatum' is an easy-to-grow tree, planted as a specimen in the middle of a park for example, in non-scorching sunlight or partial shade. It can also be used as an avenue tree to border large alleys or as a windbreak planted along the boundaries of a large garden. It can be associated in a large woodland with purple beech or Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' for example. It dislikes stagnant moisture.