Acer cappadocicum 'RUBRUM' Cappadocican maple

Among maples that do not belong to the Japanese group you can also find jewels that offer something a little more extraordinary compared to common species. Cappadocian maple is one such example. This species comes from Asia and is known for 2 varieties – Aureum with bright golden yellow new foliage, and this one – Rubrum whose young leaves are vivid red darkening to wine red. They are palmate with 5 or 7 lobes and conspicuous tips. The stalks are quite long, fiery orange and red, and beautifully contrast with mature foliage that turns dark green in summer. Autumn colour is even better – superb golden yellow, and lasts a little longer than on other yellow-colouring maples.

Cappadocian maple is a mid-sized tree or a large shrub, growing fast when young into a compact tree with rounded, mushroom-head crown with age. The bark is smooth and greenish gray when young, shallowly grooved in maturity showing prominently coloured stripes. It gets almost as wide as tall. It takes any sort of pruning from mid to late winter and almost any soil. Fully hardy to -29°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 01-01-2014