Norway Maple
Acer platanoides ‘Crimson 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.
