Acer rubrum Green Pillar - Red maple

Acer rubrum 'Green Pillar' is a variety of red maple that will appeal to enthusiasts of sculptural silhouettes. This small tree has moderate growth and forms a beautiful vegetal column, easy to integrate into even small gardens. While its flowering, which appears before the foliage, remains discreet, its vegetation is quite ornamental, composed of trilobed leaves with a dark green and glossy upper surface. Interestingly, unlike other species, it turns yellow in autumn instead of red, and this very ornamental attire remains on the plant for a long time. This very hardy tree tolerates urban pollution, but not limestone. It should be planted in a sunny location in moist, acidic to neutral soil.

The Acer (Maple) genus gave its name to the former family Aceraceae, now integrated into the Sapindaceae family, alongside ornamental plants such as the classic Koelreuteria or the less common, but very pretty Xanthoceras sorbifolium. There are more than 150 species of Maples, all originating from the northern hemisphere, mostly trees, but also shrubs, such as the charming Japanese Maples. Maples are recognised by their opposite leaves and especially by their double samara fruits, which fall while rotating like helicopter blades. They are all deciduous, except for Acer sempervirens (from Crete) and A. paxii (from China).
Native to eastern North America, Acer rubrum is alternately called Canadian Maple, Red Maple, or Virginia Maple. This tall tree reaches 20 to 30 m in height in the deep soils of its natural habitat. It is fast-growing and forms a straight trunk, with a narrow habit in its early years, broadening with age. It likes humid atmospheres and cool soils and dislikes limestone. It is a forest tree used in cabinetmaking. It is dioecious (there are male and female trees) and it flowers in small dark red clusters before the leaves appear. The 2 cm long fruits ripen as early as June, and their wings form an acute angle between them. The tree is also appreciated in parks and large gardens for its autumn colours that blaze in shades of red.
'Green Pillar' is a Dutch selection, discovered in 1988 by André van Nijnatten in Zundert (more famous, however, for being Van Gogh's birthplace...), cultivated, and then presented at the Plantarium Exhibition in 2001. Noteworthy for several reasons, this variety is easily recognised by its distinctly columnar habit. With moderate growth, this small tree reaches a height of 4 m and a width of 1.50 m ten years after planting, while at maturity, it will not exceed 6 to 8 m, with a slightly loose cylindrical crown of only 2 to 3 m in spread. These limited dimensions make it easy to find a place for it in a small urban garden, especially since it tolerates the atmosphere of cities well. It develops a straight trunk, covered with a fine greyish bark that tends to peel with age. The small, red honey-scented flowers, about 1 cm or less in size, are grouped in clusters and bloom before the appearance of the leaves. The leaves are sometimes slightly tinged with red as they emerge, and spread out to reveal their characteristic trilobed morphology. The edge of the leaf blade is toothed, and its upper part is fairly dark and slightly shiny green. The underside, on the contrary, is matte and lighter, with a slightly whitish colour. Measuring generally 6 to 8 cm in diameter, the leaves are carried by flexible petioles that are almost as long, allowing them to hang down and cover each other when the plant is small.
In autumn, 'Green Pillar' displays another singularity by turning yellow, while most other varieties, as well as the species itself, turn red. This variety is particularly interesting for creating a variegated scene alongside other trees with autumnal colours, especially since the leaves remain on the plant for a long time until frost causes them to fall.

The 'Green Pillar' Maple is particularly well-suited to small gardens, especially in contemporary environments where it is appreciated for its distinctive silhouette. Plant it as a speimen on a lawn or in a group of three, or incorporate it into a diverse flower bed playing with different shapes and foliage colours. Nyssa sylvatica 'Autumn Cascade', a Black Tupelo with trailing branches, offers a colourful festival at the end of the season when its foliage turns purple, red, orange, and bright yellow, perfectly complementing your small Maple. Liquidambar styraciflua 'Gum Ball' is an American Sweetgum that will offer you the same range of autumn colours, but in a more compact form as it forms a 3 m wide ball, which will contrast nicely with the narrow habit of 'Green Pillar'. And to enjoy a play of colours throughout the growing season, not just in autumn, plant a 'Royal Frost' Birch, with its magnificent chocolate-purple foliage, which will contrast beautifully with the dark green of your Maple, and whose white bark will also create a nice contrast in winter with the grey of 'Green Pillar'. Its grey bark will go well with the immaculate white bark of the Himalayan Birch, which appreciates the same soil conditions and will create a beautiful scene in spring and during autumn colouration. In large spaces, the 'Golden Sun' Sweetgum with its yellow spring foliage and crimson autumn colours will create spectacular contrasts of shades.