Harlequin Maple

Harlequin Maple
Acer platanoides 'Drummondii'
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)
Synonyms: Drummond’s Norway Maple

This is from a botanical scan I made this summer and I added the black background in Photoshop (CS2). This tree is really very beautiful but you have to watch for the leaves which can sometimes revert to all green. It is sterile so it does not reseed which is a major reason for not planting Norway Maple. Obviously with a name like Norway Maple it is very hardy (USDA Zone3). My particular specimen has been fairly slow growing when compared to the species. It is occasionally struck with a fungus in late summer but I have been spraying it with fungicide in the spring and that seems to stop that. If I miss the spray cycle the leaves sometimes turn brown during the summer. Plant this tree in an area where its 40 foot height and spread won’t be a problem. It can also have visible surface roots and not too many things will grow under it. I have Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) growing under mine and they both seem happy (Archangel can be invasive, plant with care) and Pachysandra will usually grow under Norway Maples. If you don’t want to use any of those try a good coat of mulch.


This is some boxed Dutch Amaryllis (Hippeastrum, hip-ee-ASS-trum) I saw at the nursery. They are pretty much a foolproof plant for the holidays and quite showy. I learned something from looking up this plant. They are not true Amaryllis. There is only on plant that belongs to that genus and it is called the Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis belladonna) or Naked Ladies. I will have to do some further research on that.