Shantung Maple
Growing up in the Chicago area, one of my favorite things about the experience and environment was the trees. People travel to the east coast just to see the changing of the leaves, and for good reason. When I came to Texas as a young teen I made it my mission to find trees with color and texture that were unique to the landscape and Shantung Maple has been a delightful find.
Shantung Maple (Acer trancatum) is a beautiful maple tree for Central Texas. Unlike the Silver maple with its highly invasive roots, or the Red maple that are prone to disease and leaf scorch, this well adapted maple is low water in full sun and an excellent shade tree for hardiness zones 4-8.
Spring Color
The new spring leaves of the Shantung Maple are just as bright as the fall color it provides. It also produces green/yellow flowers as the budding leaves return.
Beautiful and Shapely
Fast growing to 25’ tall x 20’ wide. it has an upright structure that provides privacy and shade in smaller spaces.
Interesting Bark
Not only is the tree lovely, but the bark is too. With gray to caramel tones, it adds interesting texture the landscape all year. Trees should be cherished not only for their shade, flower and fruit, but also for their bark and textural interest.
True Maple Leaves
As a cousin to the Japanese Maple, the leaves are shiny and well formed. It’s the only maple of this kind for Texas sun. This acclimated tree is non invasive, drought tolerant and disease resistant.
Upright Growth Habit
Growing in a rounded and uniform nature, it is a stately structure with flowers and fall color for any landscape.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
- Posted in: Gardening in Central Texas