Acer campestre
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- AY-ser kam-PES-tray
- Description
-
Hedge maple is a slow growing shrub or small tree in the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family native to Europe and western Asia. With a rounded mature habit reaching 35 feet tall and wide this plant will take considerable pruning, perhaps why it is given the common name hedge maple.
Plant in rich,well-drained soils in full to partial shade.
While the fall color is yellow, it is not consistent. It is easy to transplant but has a shallow root system. Very tolerant of air pollution, alkaline, clay, dry, and compacted soils.
It is a good street tree that casts dense shade and works well under utility lines because it can be severely pruned. This tree supports pollinators and birds and makes an excellent shade tree for a pollinator garden or a recreational play area. It can also be pruned into a screening hedge. It produces many seeds and has the potential to become weedy.
Quick ID Hints:
- Leaves simple, 3-5 palmately lobed
- Leaf margin entire
- Leaves concolorous, pubescent below
- Petiole milky sap
- Fruit with horizontal wings
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems.
VIDEO created by Ryan Contreras for “Landscape Plant Materials I: Deciduous Hardwoods and Conifers or Landscape Plant Materials II: Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Collector’s Garden
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Carnival'
White variegated, blush of pink on new foliage - 'Pulverulentum'
- 'Royal Ruby'
- 'Carnival'
- 'Carnival', 'Pulverulentum', 'Royal Ruby'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Carnival'
White variegated, blush of pink on new foliage - 'Pulverulentum'
- 'Royal Ruby'
- 'Carnival'
- 'Carnival', 'Pulverulentum', 'Royal Ruby'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Acer
- Species:
- campestre
- Family:
- Sapindaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Europe, Western Asia
- Wildlife Value:
- Members of the genus Acer support Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Attracts butterflies and birds.
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Shade
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wind Shimmer
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Tolerate of dry soils and compaction also air pollution tolerant
- Dimensions:
- Height: 25 ft. 0 in. - 35 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 25 ft. 0 in. - 35 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Samara
- Fruit Description:
- A schizocarp of two samaras, wings horizontal, nutlet often pubescent.
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- Insignificant
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Insignificant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Description:
- Not showy, green, inconspicuous.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Margin:
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- 2 to 4 in. opposite, simple leaves with 3 to 5 rounded lobes; entire, dull green above, pubescent beneath, 2-4" long; venation palmate; petiole to 4" with milky sap. Sometimes develops yellow to yellow-green fall color late in the season
-
-
Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Black
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Light Brown
- Light Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Furrowed
- Ridges
- Bark Description:
- Shallow ridges and furrows
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Corky Ridges
- Stem Description:
- Glabrous, light brown, lenticels. Older stems with longitudinal corky fissures. terminal imbricate, scales grayish-brown to brownish-black, apex often pubescent & chaffy, lateral smaller, appressed.
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Recreational Play Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Children's Garden
- Nighttime Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Shade Tree
- Street Tree
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Moths
- Pollinators
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Compaction
- Dry Soil
- Pollution
- Urban Conditions
- Problems:
- Weedy
