Scarlet Jewel Red Maple
Acer rubrum "Scarlet Jewel"
Height: 70 feet
Spread: 30 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 3
Other Names: Swamp Maple, Scarlet Maple
Description:
A wonderful selection of red maple featuring a full, very upright habit of growth and a consistent crimson fall color year after year that colors earlier than others of this species; reistant to frost cracking, but intolerant of alkaline soils
Ornamental Features:
Scarlet Jewel Red Maple has forest green foliage which emerges red in spring. The lobed leaves turn an outstanding crimson in the fall. It features showy red flowers along the branches in early spring before the leaves. It produces red samaras in late spring. The furrowed silver bark and brick red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.
Landscape Attributes:
Scarlet Jewel Red Maple is a dense deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Scarlet Jewel Red Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Shade
- Accent
- Vertical Accent
Plant Characteristics:
Scarlet Jewel Red Maple will grow to be about 70 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 30 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 6 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 90 years or more.
This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the leaves in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution.
This is a selection of a native North American species.
