Plantfinder
Harlequin Norway Maple
Acer platanoides 'Drummondii'
Height: 50 feet
Spread: 40 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Description:
One of the more colorful shade trees available, with boldly white-variegated leaves all season long, good for creating interest in a larger landscape or as a solitary feature tree in the front yard; use judiciously, one is usually enough
Ornamental Features
Harlequin Norway Maple has attractive white-variegated light green foliage on a tree with a round habit of growth. The lobed leaves are highly ornamental and turn yellow in fall. It is covered in stunning corymbs of lemon yellow flowers along the branches in early spring before the leaves.
Landscape Attributes
Harlequin Norway Maple is a dense deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.
This is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care and upkeep, 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.
Harlequin Norway Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Shade
Planting & Growing
Harlequin Norway Maple will grow to be about 50 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 40 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 7 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. As it matures, the lower branches of this tree can be strategically removed to create a high enough canopy to support unobstructed human traffic underneath. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live to a ripe old age of 100 years or more; think of this as a heritage tree for future generations!
This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
