Maple - Chalk

MAPLE, CHALK            White Bark Maple

Acer leucoderme            (A-sir-loo-DER-me)

Deciduous        Shade   Height 15 – 30 feet  Spread 10-15 feet  Spacing 10 – 15 feet

HABIT:  Small tree with a rounded top and beautiful foliage and golden and red fall color.  Small, yellow flowers bloom in the spring-usually in April.  The fruit, a winged seed, matures in September and is usually heavy and showy. Foliage appears at the same time that the flowers emerge and has pale hairs, which give a velvety feel to the underside of the leaves.  The mature foliage usually droops. 

CULTURE:    Easy to grow in any moist soil but adapts to drier situations.  Needs  very  little fertilizer but does respond to good conditions.

USES:              Small to medium specimen or small area shade tree.

PROBLEMS: Few problems exist other than environmental stresses.   Under the Basic Organic Program, it should be virtually pest-free.  Lack of availability in the nursery trade is currently a common problem

NOTES:            This is one of those well-adapted Texas maples that should be used quite a bit more.  At the moment, availability at the nurseries is not great.  As more people request the tree, availability will increase.

  Search Library Topics      Search Newspaper Columns