Thursday, January 03, 2008

‘Crimson Sentry’ Norway Maple


Norway Maple
Acer platanoidesCrimson Sentry
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)
Synonyms: European Maple

I was going to call this a Dwarf Norway Maple but not sure if that is correct. My definition of a dwarf is a plant that is smaller than its parent or a plant that does not reach the size normally associated with its species. There can be several reasons for dwarfism amongst plants including environmental factors, genetics and grafting. Since ‘Crimson Sentry’ gets to a final height of 30 feet with a spread of 15 feet it is considerably smaller than the normal height a Norway Maple, which is about 45 to 95 feet in height.

I planted two ‘Crimson Sentry’ Maples at the estate about 12 years ago. One of them died several years later from unknown causes and the other has been growing well. This tree is a slow grower (super slow compared to the species) and has been a welcome addition to the garden. For those of us that like red colored foliage it is a good alternative to ‘Crimson King’, which is much larger. One thing I have noticed about ‘Crimson Sentry’ is that it never seems to need pruning and maintains an almost perfect shape naturally. The foliage emerges much redder than ‘Crimson King’ and then gradually fades to the same color during the summer. I would recommend this tree for patio and entrance ways.

There are over 100 cultivars of Norway Maples available to gardeners. I featured one a few weeks ago. I didn’t know that were that many and will have to investigate some more of them.

Here is a photo I took from my bedroom window with a 200mm lens. This is actually the smaller Whitetail buck that has been hanging around our neighborhood. I have only seen the larger one at night but he looks to be a 12 to 14 pointer.

7 comments:

Mark said...

Hi Chris,
Just stopping by to wish you a Happy New Year,Love the river birch picture, it's got a nice feel to it and that peacock what a cracking colour. Hope you have a deer fence as that one looks like it would nibble your plants.

Cheers Mark

KOSTAS said...

Chris, beautiful photograph, well set up the subject, with marvellous colours of ground and corner of reception also very good. Second with the deer, it is also good, helped a lot the natural lighting.
I wish you a wonderful 2008

Oswegan said...

Those are neat winter shots.

~Oswegan

Ali said...

More beautiful photos, as always. I love the way you captured the light on the bronze leaves of the Maple.

Anonymous said...

Good shot of the deer, and the photos you took at the zoo in your earlier post looked awesome too. Blessed New Year! Deb

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Hi mark, Same to you. Lucky most of my stuff is deer proof in the backyard.

kostas, nice to see you again. thanks for the comments on the pictures and have a Happy New Year!

ali, thanks it is an interestingly colored tree. Once again Happy New Year.

tenforty, thanks for taking time out of your travels to leave a comment. Blessed New Year to you too.

Unknown said...

That is a gorgeous maple... and a beautiful deer. Happy New Year!