5 Amazing Small Maple Trees

There's more to maples than syrup. Expand your maple milieu with any of these 5 small and unusual trees

Andrew Keys

I’m a writer, designer, and lifelong gardener. I'm also author of "Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?", a book due out from Timber Press in November 2012, and I host/produce a podcast and column called Garden Confidential at Fine Gardening Magazine. My company, Oakleaf Green, is a boutique landscape design firm specializing in planting design with primarily sustainable and native plants. Oakleaf Green is currently on hiatus while I wrap up a book, for Timber Press, due out in Fall 2012. In the meantime, you can find me here or on my blog, Garden Smackdown.

I’m a writer, designer, and lifelong gardener. I'm also author of "Why... More »

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There are lots of "A"s in the alphabet of beloved trees, but for my money, the A+ goes to the genus Acer, more commonly referred to as maples. You know the shape of their leaves, you know maple syrup, and if you know plants, you know big maples like sugar and red maple, as well as smaller, superpopular Japanese maple. But there's a wealth of other small trees in the maple clan. Here are just a few — add your favorites in the Comments.

by Andrew Keys »

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by Andrew Keys »

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My favorite native maple is snakebark maple (Acer pensylvanicum, zones 3 to 7), which also goes by striped maple, goosefoot maple and moosewood (here and in first photo). A while ago I talked about hardy plants that looked tropical, and this is another one. Its big, rounded leaves grow to 7 inches long, its bark is lined and mottled like snakeskin, and it grows to around 20 feet tall and wide. Fall color (this photo) is great, and cultivar 'Erythrocladum' has young stems and branches that are bright red. This maple is an understory tree, and it needs partial to full shade and cool, damp woodland soil to thrive.

Full moon maple (Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum')

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I love Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), but the Fullmoon maple (Acer shirasawanum, zones 5 to 9) ups the ante with leaves that have up to 13 lobes. This small maple grows 15 to 30 feet tall and wide, and prefers at least light shade, if not full shade. The cultivar 'Aureum' (shown) is a standout, with spectacular gold foliage. (Yet another gold foliage plant for shade!) It turns gorgeous shades of red and gold in fall.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Abrahami

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Maples aren't known for just great foliage. Even better than snakebark maple, paperbark maple (Acer griseum, zones 4 to 8) is another small tree with terrific cinnamon-color peeling bark — an eye-catching feature even in winter. During the growing season, it contrasts perfectly with deep green leaves. Paperbark maple grows to 25 feet high and wide, and is happy in full sun to part shade.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Sten

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Pacific Northwesterners will be familiar with their native vine maple (Acer circinatum, zones 6 to 9), which grows as well in other parts of the country in well-drained soil with afternoon shade. This little maple grows 20 to 30 feet tall and wide (sometimes more in its home range), and I'm particularly interested to try some newer cultivars with purple leaves, like Pacific Purple.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Walter Siegmund

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Looking for all the world like a maple-holly hybrid, evergreen or Cretan maple (Acer sempervirens) hails from Greece, and being a Mediterranean plant, it thrives in climates with damp winters and droughty summers, as well as poor soil. It also has incredibly glossy, evergreen to semievergreen foliage, and it's cold hardy as far north as zone 6. I suspect this uncommon maple's hardiness is a bit untested in regions with humid summers — if you live east of the Mississippi and want to try it, I suggest planting it in a dry spot with lots of sun and lean, fast-draining soil. It grows to roughly 30 feet tall.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Abrahami

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plach1606 Crimson King Maple is another beautiful yet small maple. I've had one in my front yard for more than 15 years and I just love it. I was not taking a photo of my crimson king in this picture but I think it still gives an idea o f the overall size. It's leaves are a 'crimson' red and beautiful. I am 5' 4" tall and if I am standing at the trunk of the tree, the lowest branch on the bottom right is about eye level to me. The leaves are about the size of my hand and in the fall are the most beautiful deep red crimson, great if you like to dry leaves and craft.

11 months ago · Like ·

hometipster I love the way Maples change with the seasons to give such an array of colors. Jessi recently wrote a very nice article http://hometipster.com/adding-color-garden-trees/ which provides some great information on planting trees to maximize color throughout the seasons.

11 months ago · Like