Family: Maple or Sapindaceae. Genus: Maple. Species: American maple (Acer negundo) or Ash-leaved maple.

Found wild in North America. Refers to light-loving plants. Prefers nutritious, medium moisture soils. Requires moderate watering. The height of the plant reaches 20 and a little more meters. Life expectancy in the wild is up to 100 years. Propagation method: seeds.

American maple tree and leaves

American maple is a deciduous tree. The tree has a short trunk branched at the base. Brown color. The older the tree, the darker the bark of its trunk. Young maples have small cracks on the surface of the bark. As the tree "mature" they become deeper, gradually turning into grooves.

Long, spreading, smooth branches of green or olive color depart from the branching of the trunk. On the branches of the tree you can often see a bluish, less often purple bloom. The crown is wide and spreading.

The leaves are compound, pinnate, petiolate. Each leaf consists of 3 or 5 long (up to 10 cm) leaves. The leaves have a serrated edge and a pointed, sometimes lobed, apex. The top surface of the leaf is darker than the bottom. The lower part of the leaf is slightly pubescent. In autumn, the leaves change color to shades of yellow and red.

The leaves of the American maple are similar in appearance to the leaves of an ash tree, hence one of the "names" of this plant is the Ash-shaped maple. Maple is a dioecious plant. On the same tree, but on different branches, there are both female and male flowers. Male flowers are collected in hanging bunches. Their anthers are painted in reddish tones. The female inflorescences are green and collected in a raceme. American maple begins to bloom in May. Flowering continues until the first leaves appear. In autumn, white fluffy buds form on the tree.

The fruit is a lionfish, containing one seed and two wings, about 4 cm long. Lionfish ripen in late summer (August, September) and remain on the plant until spring. Mature trees are highly frost-resistant and easily tolerate low (down to -35 ° C) temperatures. Frost resistance of young trees is much lower.

The plant is characterized by rapid growth and rapid development. Easily tolerates high air pollution, adapted to growing in urban environments. Life expectancy in outdoor conditions is approximately 30 years. Differs in high fragility. Propagated by seeds (self-seeding) and stump shoots.

Distribution of American ash maple

In the wild state, American maple is found in tugai (forest along non-drying river banks) in Canada and the USA. It can be seen in the Far East, in Central Asia, in deciduous forests on highly moistened, even swampy, soil.

In Russia, in the wild, widely distributed in Central region and Siberia. Maple American successfully coexists with different types poplars, willows, as well as oak and ash.

Maple use

Thanks to rapid growth and unpretentiousness, American maple is widely used for landscaping city streets, when creating parks and alleys.

However, this plant, as a gardener, also has disadvantages:

• short life expectancy in urban conditions (up to 30 years).
• brittleness caused by strong wind, rain and hail.
• the presence of rapidly developing root growth that destroys asphalt and requires correction.
• the formation during flowering of a large amount of pollen that can cause allergic reactions in humans.
• very large, wide crown, shading the streets, which is a habitat for insects, including ticks.
• Roots and decaying leaves release toxins that can inhibit the growth of other plants growing near the maple.
• Abundant self-seeding leads to excessive growth, which has to be fought like a weed.

Thus, the use of this plant as a gardener is not always justified.

In decorative terms, American maple is of little value. It has a beautiful crown, picturesquely painted by nature in the autumn. Thanks to the different shades of leaves (green, yellow and reddish), it looks very impressive.

IN landscape design the plant is practically not used. This is due to the structural features of its trunk. It is short, branched, often twisted. The branches are very fragile. American maple is not suitable for hedges and is most often used as a temporary species used for quick landscaping in combination with other, more decorative but slow growing species.

The wood of the clairvoyant maple is short-lived and does not differ in strength, therefore it is suitable only for the manufacture of wooden containers and some household items.

The lower, widest part of the trunk (butt) and outgrowths on the trunk (burl) of this plant on the cut have unusual drawing and are therefore widely used in the manufacture creative works. Vases, sculptures are cut out of them, handles for knives are cut out.

In the spring, the plant secretes abundant sweet juice. In some countries, for example, in North America, maple began to be used as a sugar plant.

In the wild, the plant is popular with birds that like to build nests in its dense crown, and eat lionfish in autumn. They love to eat maple fruits and squirrels.

The plant has a breeding value. Based on it, scientists create new decorative forms trees and shrubs. The result of selection is the Flamingo maple, which is of great decorative value.

American maple does not require thorough maintenance. If you carefully treat the plant and pamper it with your attention, it will thank you with a chic crown and give shade and coolness on a hot summer day.

Care when planting a plant consists in making mineral fertilizers right into the landing pits. After planting, it is desirable to mulch the tree trunks. Mulching is done with a five-centimeter layer or peat.

In spring, the plant is fed with a solution of potassium and sodium fertilizers. Summer top dressing is carried out with Kemira-universal fertilizer.

The American maple is drought tolerant, but thrives best when watered. Watering rate: 15 liters under a tree. For young trees, the rate should be doubled. It is advisable to water the plant once a month, dry summer - once a week.

During summer period weeding and loosening of the soil is desirable in order to enrich it with oxygen. Summer care includes pruning dry and diseased branches. Some varieties are actively growing side branches, it is also better to remove them.

In late autumn, the root collars of young (annual) plants must be closed dense material or pawpaw. They are sensitive to frost. Mature plants are frost-resistant and do not need winter protection.

cultivation

Planting is done in spring or autumn. Planting seedlings is carried out in specially prepared pits, at a shallow depth. The root neck of the seedling should be at the level of the soil. If groundwater passes near the landing site, or if planting is carried out in waterlogged soils, it is necessary to loosen the bottom of the pit well. Drainage containing sand and construction waste is introduced into the planting recess, with a layer of up to 20 cm.

When planting, seedlings are placed at a distance of 3-4 meters from each other. To create a hedge - every one and a half, two meters.

It grows wild in North America. The tree was brought to Europe in the 17th century. It has been cultivated in Russia since 1796. Outwardly, this type of maple is a low deciduous tree or shrub with many trunks. Plant height 5-8 meters. Distinctive features of this species are leaves and crown.

Maple Flamingo has complex, pinnate leaves, consisting of individual petiole leaves (from 3 to 5). The length of the leaf is 10 cm. The color of the leaves changes as they bloom:

• leaves are silver-gray on young shoots.
• in summer, a white-pink border and spots of the same shade appear on them, unevenly distributed over the entire area of ​​the leaf blade.
• closer to autumn, the color of the leaves becomes bright pink with dark pink and greenish stripes.

The crown of the tree has a rounded shape with a diameter of up to 4 meters and an openwork appearance. It has an unusual coloration. The tree looks very beautiful and becomes a real decoration of streets, squares and gardens. The plant retains its decorative effect throughout its life.

Like other representatives of the Maple genus, the Flamingo maple is a dioecious plant. On the same plant are both male and female inflorescences. They are quite small and have a greenish tint. The fruits are gray lionfish.

This type of maple grows well in lighted areas, loves fertile, well-moistened soil. Resistant to low temperatures.

Ash-leaved maple, often erroneously called ash, was deliberately introduced to Europe in the 17th century, it came to Russia in 1796 and by the 70s of the last century took first place out of fifty invasive plants imported to Russia. Ash-leaved maple, or American maple (lat. Acer negúndo) is a dangerous invasive species that has become naturalized in our conditions. It is widely introduced into the native vegetation cover of Moscow with its large number of disturbed soils and currently poses a threat to other tree species and the entire biological diversity of the city.

Ash-leaved maple - - is found everywhere in urban areas, forms thickets in fallow areas, edges of forest belts, oak forests. In the floodplains of small rivers and small lakes, it dominates in the tree-shrub layer. In floodplain forests, it completely stops the regeneration of willows and poplars. It has strong allelopathic properties (physiologically active substances of leaf litter - colins - act as inhibitors of the growth of competing plants).

In urban and other cultural environments, it is a pernicious woody weed. The pollen of male specimens of the ash-leaved maple is strong allergen, during the period spring flowering(in central Russia in late April - early May), the wind carries it over long distances, and its presence in the air causes hay fever in people (a disease called "hay fever"). According to the studies of O. V. Chemarina, it is a carcinogen. The leaves emit an unpleasant odor when crushed.

The introduction of alien species (which include ash-leaved maple) and their spread can cause irreversible environmental disasters. Accordingly, the problem of invasions at the beginning of the 21st century becomes the most important in terms of ensuring the environmental security of Russia. For the first time, a comprehensive discussion of this problem was carried out at a meeting round table, organized within the framework of the All-Russian Conference on Ecological Safety (June 4-5, 2002, Moscow) (Ecological Safety and Invasions of Alien Organisms, 2002).

At the end of 2009, the Main Botanical Garden Russian Academy Sci. published the Black Book of the Flora of Central Russia, which for the first time collected and summarized data on the 52 most widespread invasive plant species in Central Russia. In addition, the European Black List is given - a list of the most harmful alien species, for which the European Invasive Species Strategy recommends that strict control of dispersal be carried out.

But, due to environmental agencies, many aspects of nature management are not regulated and controlled. This largely applies to the ash-leaved maple, which is legally related to green spaces third category (of low value), due to which cutting down or damaging it without appropriate documents entails administrative responsibility (meanwhile, the enormous growth rate of this so-called local "bamboo" leaves little time for various bureaucratic procedures and constantly increases future costs for eradicating ).

This is the kind of plant that flooded Moscow, about which even the wife-bards of Nikitin composed a song, though somewhat romantic, but it’s understandable that at that time they didn’t pay attention to such things.

Maple in landscape design

Maple in garden landscaping

When asked how many maples are on earth, botanical science answers: approximately 150. Approximately, because there can be no exact answers in this very inexact science. All maples (Acer)- these are trees and shrubs, mainly decorative dignity which are beautiful carved leaves.

Russia is home to about 20 maple species, half of them grow in the European part, and the rest in the Far East. If we count all the species that can grow in our middle lane, we get a figure of at least 30.

MORE ABOUT SOME MAPLE

All maples- deciduous trees or shrubs. The leaves of maples are most often simple lobed, by the way, the Latin name of the maple Acer means sharp. This refers to the sharp blades of the most famous European species- Norway maple. But they also meet compound leaves, for example, in the ash-leaved or American maple (Acer negundo), which is ubiquitous in our landscaping. Below are just some of the maples that we grow or have seen with our own eyes.

Norway maple or plane tree (Acer platanoides)- an ordinary tree in Europe, in our country this species grows only in the European part, spreading north to the latitude of St. Petersburg. It grows as a tree up to 20 m high. It tolerates city conditions well and is often present in landscaping. It has many decorative forms, which are still not very common among us, but extremely desirable.

The most famous of them is “Crimson King”, which translates as “Purple King”, a tree about 10 m high with a dense wide crown and brown-red leaves. The variety arose a very long time ago, but, despite the appearance of several others from the same series, it remains on the first lines of the popularity rating. Other notable "purples"- Faasen Black- having black-purple foliage, smooth, and not wrinkled in dissolution, as in the previous variety.

'Crimson Sentry' which means 'Purple Sentry' leaves purplish red all season and additionally a columnar crown. "Schwedlerii" (Schwedler)- at a height of about 10 m, it has an oval crown slightly elongated vertically and bright red in dissolution, then slightly green leaves.

The green-leaved variety "Globosum", a slow-growing low tree with a beautiful dense spherical crown, is in great demand among European gardeners. For more than one century, the Drummondii variety (Drummond) has been successful, the foliage of which is decorated with a white border, which is why groups of trees of this variety, according to some authors, make a stunning impression with their unusual beauty and lightness.

Ginnal maple, or riverine (Acer ginna la), is found wild in the Russian Far East. growing large shrub or a tree up to 5 m high with a tent-shaped crown. It looks like Tatar maple, but the bark has a lighter, brown. Leaves up to 8 cm long are distinctly three-lobed: the middle lobe is the largest, far protruding. The laterals are noticeably shorter, extending to the sides at almost a right angle. In autumn, the leaves take on a bright red color. It tolerates shearing and shaping, very good low (about 50 cm high) sheared borders, unusually spectacular in autumn colors.

Tatar maple (Acer tataricum)- found in the European part of Russia south of Moscow, as well as in the Caucasus, in Europe. It grows as a low tree or shrub up to 7 m high. For its dark gray, almost black bark, this species is often called black maple. Young shoots are reddish-brown. The leaves are sometimes almost entire, more often indistinctly lobed, serrated. Well cut and shaped.

Palm-shaped maple, or fan-shaped (Acer palmatum),- naturally grows in Japan, Korea, East and Central China. The most popular of the maples, with a large and varied assortment. It is believed that the number of varieties in this species exceeds a hundred. It is very much appreciated by garden designers for its high decorativeness and variety of external data. Particularly spectacular varieties with strongly dissected and brightly colored leaf blades, additionally decorated with spots, borders, etc. Is an an indispensable attribute Japanese garden. Well cut and shaped.

Under natural conditions, it grows as a small shrub or tree up to 5-6 m high with a rounded or umbrella-shaped crown, but the usual height is 2-3 m. The shoots are thin, smooth, greenish in youth, then beige or light brown. Leaves 5-7-toed (rarely 9), with narrow, sharp, roughly serrated lobes.

Although this species is considered to be quite thermophilic, some of its varieties winter quite steadily at the latitude of Moscow. Our personal experience, however, concerns only one variety from the Dissectum group (that is, twice dissected). This is a small bush about 2-2.5 m high (sometimes up to 5 m), with a rounded rather dense crown. The leaves in the dissolution are pinkish-brown, then green or brownish-green, up to 10 cm in diameter, dissected to the very base into narrow lobes. In normal winters, this variety hibernates almost without damage, keeping all the buds alive up to the tops of the shoots. Unfavorable winters (this happens no more than twice a decade) cause damage to up to half of the annual growth, but the plant recovers very quickly, without losing its decorative effect at all.

COMMON IN MAPLE CHARACTER

Maples love fertile, moist soils and are relatively shade-tolerant. When planting large trees, be sure to take into account local soil conditions, since it is not possible to cultivate barren sandy loamy soil. The best way in this case- structural fertile loam underlain by thick loamy subsoil. For plants small sizes, which are palm-shaped, Tatar and Ginnala maples, it is possible to create suitable conditions locally. To do this, they dig holes with a depth and diameter of 60-70 cm (40 cm is enough for a hand-shaped one), fill them with a fertile substrate, a variant of which can be a mixture of soddy soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 3: 1: 1.

When planting, do not bury the root collar. At first, the plants are watered quite often, preventing the soil from drying out. trunk circle kept in a weed-free state, best under a mulch layer of humus, peat or compost. Tree care includes fertilizer, dry watering, shaping.

MAPLE AT HOUSE AND IN THE FRONT GARDEN

Species and varietal diversity opens up great opportunities for maple in application. Those who happened to be in the best gardens and parks in England, Holland, Germany, he probably noticed how often European designers use large trees with brightly colored and variegated foliage in landscaping. By doing this, they seek to attract green decoration into the general decorative ensemble of the middle and upper tiers, which in nature are painted only green. The slope of a mountain or ravine lined with trees with yellow, red, purple and variegated foliage looks simply fabulous.

Even one Crimson King maple planted in front of your country house, will bring an unprecedented flavor to the design of the estate. If, however, to compose with his participation a single composition of decorative deciduous trees and shrubs, then the effect will be even greater. This task is not so simple, since when planting seedlings, it is necessary to take into account not only the future size of the plants, but also their color compatibility.

Tatar and Ginnala maples are good in sheared borders and hedges. They can be formed in a different way, for example, in the form of a hemisphere, a ball on a trunk. Maple palmate is also well formed, but it should not be cut too much and after mid-August, the plant should be given the opportunity to prepare for the cold period. The bushes of this maple are good in a wide variety of subjects and compositions.

We send seedlings of shrubs, perennials and trees for the garden. There are about 200 varieties and species in total. The nursery has years of experience sending plants to different regions Russia. Upon request with a paid envelope, we will send a catalog with the conditions of forwarding.

Smirnov Alexander Dmitrievich

Address: 600028, Vladimir, 24th passage, 12

(Ural Gardener No. 23, 2014)

What maple do you need

Maples belong to broad-leaved species, there are more than 150 species of them in nature, but in landscape design in garden plots of the Central Strip of our country and to the north - most of them are used quite rarely. Externally, maples are trees and shrubs with opposite leaves. Their flowers are usually inconspicuous, but honey-bearing; collected in corymbose or spike-shaped inflorescences. The fruit is an original, very characteristic two-winged bird; it is very easy to determine the belonging of any unfamiliar tree to the genus and family of maple. Since the use of large trees in landscape design garden plots usually is quite limited, then only one of the large representatives of the family is widely used - maple, by the way, the most famous among the people. Most of the other species are usually small trees and shrubs.

Norway maple or plane tree (Acer platanoides L.) . Lives up to 200 years. It is a powerful, fast-growing, up to 30 m high, shade tree with a dense spherical crown, giving a dense shadow. The trunk is columnar, covered with almost black finely fissured bark. Norway maple grows rapidly when young, but after 30 years its growth slows down somewhat. The wood is hard, strong, reddish-white, with a beautiful pockmarked pattern. It blooms before the leaves bloom, the flowers are quite large, but inconspicuous, yellow-green (photo 1), numerous.

The crown is rounded, usually does not need pruning, however, if necessary, trees tolerate pruning and shearing well. The leaves are large, up to 20 cm in diameter, 5-7-palate-lobed, dark green, yellow, orange or red in autumn. The species is very shade tolerant. Fairly winter hardy. To the fertility of the soil and its moisture is quite demanding. but garden soils, for its cultivation, almost everything is suitable. Does not tolerate their salinity. It does not tolerate both excess and lack of moisture in the soil, although it can withstand relatively close occurrence. ground water. Wind resistant. Until the age of 15, it tolerates transplant well. Young trees can be damaged by hares. It has a number of decorative forms, very widely used in landscape design. The red-leaved ones are especially beautiful (photo 2): Schwedler (A. platanoides f. schwedleri Schwer.) and Reitenbach (A. platanoides f. Reitenbachii Schwer.). As well as decorative varieties derived from them. The Schwedler form has bright red leaves in spring and autumn, and greenish-bronze or reddish-green in summer. And in Reitenbach, the leaves acquire a red color only in autumn.

Of the varieties, particular popularity in last years purchased cultivars "King reed" and "Goldsworth Purple". Norway maple is good in group and row plantings, as well as alleys; for many centuries it and its forms have been widely used in landscaping urban gardens, parks and squares. Propagated by seeds, self-sowing with lumps, and decorative forms - by grafting. The area around him is heavily shaded. With age, especially in small areas, it can become too large, so it is preferable to plant Norway maple not on the site itself, but near it, as a tapeworm (singly) or a pair - on both sides at the gate, where they will beautifully drape the entrance to the site . When planting, remember that in 10 years your seedling will turn into a powerful tree. If it is impossible or unwilling to have one, the stem of an ordinary seedling can be grafted with a cutting of Norway maple, spherical at a height of 1.5-5 m, forming a very dense spherical crown that does not require further formation. At the same time, growth in height practically stops. If, in the second year after vaccination, the crown is slightly cut from above, then it will become umbrella-shaped. The leaves of this form are pinkish-red in spring, dark green in summer, and red again in autumn; do not fall off for a long time. It should be noted that this form of Norway maple is photophilous and more demanding on the soil. Grafting is usually performed by copulation with a tongue, a cutting with 3-4 buds, or by budding in the butt. When planting seedlings grafted at different heights together, you can create original stepped biogroups. Seedlings grafted at the same height are suitable for laying linear plantings and alleys. And when grafted into the root neck, cushion maple bushes can be formed, which are especially suitable for planting as tapeworms on the lawn. A feature of caring for such grafted trees is the need to remove water shoots and wild growth from rootstocks. Norway maple also has a decorative form with palm-cut leaves, dissected into 5-7 lobes to the very base of the leaf. It is quite winter-hardy, gas- and smoke-resistant. However, light-requiring and prefers fertile soils with moderate moisture. It is propagated in spring and summer by budding, usually on standard Norway maple seedlings at a height of 50-75 cm, usually with further molding into a low-stem tree. This form is used to create biogroups and tapeworms. Ornamental cultivars of Norway maple have been bred and, in Western Europe. So, in the undersized variety "Drummondii" - the leaves are edged with a cream border, and the height of the trees does not exceed 6 m, which is a very desirable property in terms of landscape design. Variety "Brilliantissimum" also has a positive quality for landscape design short stature. Its mature trees barely reach 6 meters in height, its young foliage is painted in an unusual pinkish-bronze color. And in the cultivar "Worleei" it is golden yellow. The only thing to keep in mind when purchasing foreign varieties is that not all of them are as winter-hardy as our domestic forms of Norway maple.

Field maple or paklen (A. campestre L.) . In nature, it does not grow north of Tula, but in culture it is grown up to the North-West of the country, although its winter hardiness is mediocre. Lives up to 100 years. Grows slowly, low tree or bush. The shoots are thin, sometimes with cork ribs, their ends are often beaten by frost. The leaves are similar to those of Norway maple, but with slightly blunt, rounded lobes. Blossoms in May, greenish flowers, melliferous. Relatively demanding on soil fertility, but tolerates its dryness well. Shade-tolerant. Due to its slow growth and small size, it is much better suited for landscaping small areas than Norway maple, but, as already mentioned, it is much more thermophilic than the latter. It can be used to create tapeworms, curtains, hedges. Propagated by seeds, root offspring, stump shoots.

Tatar maple (Acer tataricum L.) , folk synonyms - neklyon, black maple. The area of ​​​​its natural growth is the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, as well as Western Siberia, habitat - oak forests, slopes of beams. It is very beautiful and decorative, as if nature itself was created to decorate gardens and parks. In the middle of summer, June - July, red scalloped spots stand out brightly on it - these are the lionfish of the fruit, giving it a very elegant look. From a distance it seems that the tree is in bloom (photo 3).

By autumn, the seeds turn brown, but remain hanging on the tree even after leaf fall, to some extent brightening up the bare branches. The Tatar maple is usually a shrub or a low tree, rarely reaching 4 m in height. For a garden, this is a positive property, because. too tall and powerful trees take up a lot of space and interfere with other plants. But in particular favorable conditions occasionally it can grow up to 10-12 m. The growth rate is moderate. The wood is strong, strong and beautiful, but because of the small-scale use, it usually has no use, it is suitable only for small crafts. The bark is smooth, almost black (hence the black maple). The branches are thin, brownish, starting low above the ground, forming a neat, wide-oval, medium-density crown that lends itself well to molding. The leaves are opposite, entire, ovate, not similar to maple (hence the name non-maple), 6-10 cm in size, coarsely serrated along the edge, sometimes with small lobes. Dark green above, lighter below, yellowing or reddening in autumn; contain 246 mg/% of vitamin C. The flowers are white, small, fragrant, collected in dense inflorescences, very honey-bearing. Diptera are not large, located at an acute angle to each other, there are usually a lot of them in the crown of a tree. Until ripe, they are red or bright pink, therefore, they greatly adorn the tree. Weight 1000 pcs. seeds is 36-50 g. This type of maple reproduces mainly by seeds, less often by shoots and layering. Maple Tatar is resistant to gas pollution and smoke, therefore it is suitable for landscaping cities. Shade-tolerant, very winter-hardy, withstands frosts down to -50°C. It is not picky about the soil, it is not afraid of its dryness, it even tolerates some salinity. Widely used in landscape design, especially in Central and Western Europe. It is quite stable in the Middle lane and in the North-West of our country. It is used as a solitaire (single), in biogroups, to create protective strips and alleys, as well as high hedges. Particularly decorative garden forms have been identified and widely cultivated.

Maple ginnala or riverine (A. ginnala Maxim.) - outwardly very similar to the Tatar, but somewhat more attractive than the latter. Likes more moist soil, and tolerates shade worse than the latter. Its homeland is the Far East, but in culture it is successfully grown throughout the European part of Russia, up to the Vologda region. It is a shrub or tree up to 8 m in height. Its stems are usually thin, decoratively curved. The leaves are small, deep-lobed, dark green above and light green below; turn fiery red in autumn (photo 4). The flowers are small, white, fragrant, collected in oval panicles. Fruits annually from 5-6 years.

The lionfish are somewhat smaller than those of the Tatar maple, the young ones have a pinkish color, therefore, like that one, they decorate the tree very much, turn brown in autumn. The species is unpretentious, undemanding to the soil, drought-resistant, winter-hardy, gas- and smoke-resistant. Likes a sunny location, but tolerates partial shade. Pruning tolerates well, the latter stimulates abundant branching of the crown. Suitable for single and group landings, creating hedges of a triangular or trapezoidal shape up to 2 m high. The disadvantage is that the ginnal maple tends to expose the bottom of the bush, so it is more suitable for forming in a standard form. It is propagated by sowing seeds, in the fall - freshly harvested, in the spring - after a four-month stratification. The emerging shoots dive. At 3-5 years old, seedlings are usually ready for planting in a permanent place.

Ash-leaved maple or negundo (A. negundo L.) . This is an exotic from North America, often multi-stemmed, up to 25 m high. It grows very quickly. Its foliage is somewhat reminiscent of ash (hence the name). The leaves are coarsely toothed, trifoliate or pinnately compound, usually consisting of five leaflets. Dual domain. The flowers are inconspicuous, wind pollinated. The fruits, numerous light gray diptera with almost parallel wings, remain hanging on the tree all winter. The ash-leaved maple has a fairly beautiful crown, is fast-growing, propagates well by seeds, and also, unlike other maple species, by cuttings. Easy to cut and shape. Drought tolerant. Because of these qualities, at one time, it was widely introduced into the landscaping of cities. But it turned out to be short-lived, gives a lot of root growth, spoiling lawns. Windfall, often leans and falls. Its wood is fragile, therefore it is also windbreaker. Suffering from spring frosts and severe frosts. Photophilous. Due to all these shortcomings, it is currently considered a weed in landscaping, so when it is introduced into landscape design garden plot should be especially careful. More decorative and winter-hardy is its subspecies from the Great Lakes region (var. violaceum), which has beautiful dark purple shoots with a bluish bloom. There is also a variegated form. But even they, perhaps, are hardly worthy of widespread implementation. However, much here depends on the taste and wishes of the owner, as well as the skill and talent of the landscape designer.

In addition to those described, when landscaping areas, you can also grow the following types of maples, as well as their decorative forms: yellow, green-skinned, red, Manchurian, Miyabe, mono, a synonym for small-leaved, sugary (silver), etc. In addition, in nature there are still quite a few other species and intraspecific forms of maples. However, most of them are either very rare or not winter-hardy enough, therefore, they are practically not used in the landscape design of the Middle Strip of our country, and to the north.

In conclusion, it should be remembered that there are no ideal tree species, each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is only necessary to correctly take into account the latter in each specific case, when choosing a tree of the desired type and shape. And, depending on local conditions and the general idea - to determine which of them is best suited for this. Undoubtedly, all of the above fully applies to maples, both listed and left out of brackets.

American maple, or ash-leaved(lat. Acer negundo) is a deciduous tree of the maple family ( Acereae).

Description

Dioecious tree up to 25 m high with a spreading crown. His appearance strongly depends on habitat conditions: in forests with moderate moisture and undisturbed soil, it has the form of an upright tree with one trunk; when the plant is partially shaded, for example at the edge of a forest, its branches take on weeping form, and the trunks are strongly inclined; in habitats outside the forest, the plant branches strongly and rarely reaches a height of more than 12-15 m. The trunk is up to 1 m in diameter with brown-brown bark, with longitudinal cracks. Young shoots are slightly pubescent, one-year-olds are bare, shiny, olive-green with a wax coating. The leaves are green above, bluish-green below, compound, pinnate, consist of 3-7 toothed or lobed leaflets 5-13 cm long and 2.5-7.5 cm wide, sitting on a petiole 5-8 cm long. Leaflets in youth (when blooming) felt-pubescent on both sides, especially densely below, later glabrous.

Flowers are usually petalless. male flowers(staminate) with reddish large anthers, hanging on thin pedicels up to 6 cm long, collected in bunches; female (pistil) - greenish, collected in racemes, have short thick pedicels 6-8 mm long, which elongate with fruits up to 2-3 cm.

American maple male flowers

Light gray lionfish 3.5-4.8 mm long with almost parallel wings.

Spreading

Naturally grows in the forests of central North America - from Ontario south to Florida and west to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Grows in valleys and along rivers and lakes.

In the city of Rtishchevo and the Rtishchevo district, it is found in forest belts.

Features of biology and ecology

Unpretentious to soil conditions and resistant to air pollution. Easily runs wild and propagates by self-sowing. The wilding of the American maple in central Russia began in the second half of the 20th century.

It blooms before the foliage blooms, in March - April. male plants bloom a little earlier than female. Pollen is dispersed mainly by the wind. Additional pollination is done by bees.

Seeds ripen in autumn; in winter they remain hanging on a tree, sometimes they remain on next year. Propagated mainly by sowing seeds; the main way they are dispersed by the wind. Lionfish can spread at least 50 m from the parent tree. In some habitats, such as river valleys, seeds can also be dispersed by water currents. American maple seeds are able to survive in water for at least 6 weeks and germinate before they hit the soil layer.

The age of first fruiting depends on the availability of resources - on open resources with normal soils, it can be 5 years, and under the forest canopy it can reach 15 years or more.

The maximum age of the trees is about 100 years.

Economic importance and application

Bee collecting pollen from male flowers American maple

Introduced into culture in 1688 in England. Later it was introduced to Holland (1690) and Germany (1699). In Poland, it was first recorded in 1808.

American maple has been known in Russia since the end of the 18th century. IN botanical garden Petersburg, adult specimens of maple were already in 1796. In the second half of the 19th century, the species was proposed for planting in parks and along roadsides. It was recommended to be planted as a windproof and forest-protective breed. In the first half of the 20th century, it became one of the most commonly planted alien plants. Appreciated for the speed of growth, especially in his youth.

This species has also been promoted for cultivation in apiaries. American maple is one of the earliest spring pollen sources. There is even a special box-elder honey, which is sold in Poland in Bialowieza.

IN Soviet time was widely used in landscaping parks, gardens, squares in the cities of the central part of the European part of the USSR, Siberia, Central Asia and the Far East, as well as in landscaping Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In the conditions of cities, the American maple is short-lived, it usually lives up to 60 years. Its fragility, fragility of branches, the presence of root offspring that destroy asphalt, abundant self-seeding, which has to be fought like weeds (especially along railway embankments), an abundance of pollen that causes allergic reactions in people, forced us to refuse to use it in urban landscaping. At present, American maple is rarely used, for example, for land reclamation.

Category and status

American maple is listed in the Black Book of Flora of Central Russia as one of the most malicious and widespread invasive species of flora. middle lane Russia. The specific influence of American maple is expressed in a constant high increase in biomass, which leads to the dominance of the species in floodplain forests.

To prevent further introduction of American maple, it is recommended to completely stop planting this species. Destruction can be realized mainly by mechanical removal of seedlings and juvenile specimens; chemical treatment is also very effective, since American maple sensitive to many herbicides, such as glyphosphate.

origin of name

The leaves of the American maple are similar to the leaves of the ash tree, hence its second Russian specific name.

Literature

• Andronov N. M., Bogdanov P. L. Determinant woody plants by leaves. - L .: Publishing house of the Leningrad University. - p. 70
• Borodina N. A. and others. Trees and shrubs of the USSR. - M.: Thought, 1966. - S. 595-596
• Vinogradova Yu. K., Mayorov S. R., Khorun L. V. Black Book of Flora of Central Russia (Alien species of plants in ecosystems of Central Russia). - M.: GEOS, 2009. - S. 83-93
• Trees and shrubs of the USSR. Wild, cultivated and prospects for introduction / Ed. in 6 volumes. T. IV. Angiosperms: legume family - pomegranate. - M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1958. - S. 497-498
• Flora of Moscow / Varlygina T. I., Golovkin B. N., Kiseleva K. V. and others - M .: Golden-Bi, 2007. - S. 81-82
• Flora of Central Russia: Identifier Atlas / Kiseleva K. V., Maiorov S. R., Novikov V. S. Ed. prof. V. S. Novikov. - M.: CJSC "Fiton +", 2010. - S. 342

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Trees also have pests. You plant this on your site - then you will not end up with grief. And then you won't survive. We will talk about one such instance.

Long and ugly

Who would have thought that in the plant world there are such negative species that they should never be planted either near people's homes or in a forest belt. Such, for example, is the American maple.

It stretches up to 21 m. Although its average "height" is 12-15 m. In diameter - up to 90 cm (with the usual 30-60). The trunk is short. At the very base, it diverges into long, curved processes. They grow wildly on the sides, creating a sloppy top. And if he was destined to appear between other trees and grow in close quarters, then he quickly overtakes everyone in growth and spreads his crown (but already very thinned) over the entire community. Such a proud one! Wants to be above the rest.

Such is the appearance of the American maple. The description of the tree does not speak of its beauty. On the contrary, there is something unpleasant about him. Moreover, the skin is thin. Dirty gray or light brown. On it are shallow and intersecting grooves. Like the wrinkles on an old woman's face. And the branches - well, like from a fairy tale. In some specimens - green, in others - an incomprehensible crimson hue. Not strong, but not weak either. However, moderately strong. And often covered with fluff.

Yellowness is a sign of danger

American maple buds out in spring. They are white and fluffy. They look pretty cute. Then the leaves of the American maple sprout. Their length is 6-7 cm. Each is pointed upwards, as if it wants to prick. It has 3-5 serrated segments at the end. And, surprisingly, these leaves are of two colors. Top part light, and the bottom - gray-green. In autumn the color is yellow.

This yellowness is the most treacherous! Those who do not know all the subtleties take this tree for an ordinary maple. And planted near their house. But it is this maple on the eve of winter that is all red-burgundy! Such a mistake is costly for people.

Specially imported enemy

You may ask why there is so much negativity when it comes to American maple? The tree looks normal. What's terrible about it? Whom does it interfere with?

But listen further. This so-called ash-leaved maple comes from North America. Deliberately (or accidentally) brought in the 17th century to another continent - to Europe. Scientifically speaking, introduced. Such a movement of a species of plants or animals outside their natural range is not a blessing at all. In fact, this is the introduction into our latitudes of forms alien to the familiar ecosystem.

It so happened that in St. Petersburg, in the Imperial Botanical Garden, it has been growing since 1796. There are also plantings in Moscow itself. This tree was bred from seeds that were obtained in Canada. And everything would be fine - let it grow in botanical gardens, like other rare plants. So no! It emerged from the parks and intruded into the surrounding vegetation. And this is dangerous. The stranger is a clear threat to Russia's biological diversity.

American maple is one of the most aggressive weeds in the forests of Eurasia. Today you will see it everywhere: in cities, in forests. He also climbed into the floodplains of rivulets and small lakes. And acts there as a dominant.

Maple you are my fallen

This miracle blooms in May, until early June. The duration of this period is not more than two weeks. The fruits are two wings with one seed inside. Moreover, they ripen from August to October, but hang on a tree right up to the very spring and then scatter around the district. They fall to the ground and give new growth.

Formerly relatives natural home such a maple were forests and swamps in Canada and the USA. Some populations, however, are found partially in the West, even in Guatemala and somewhere in Mexico.

Today, the American maple has mastered a lot of new habitats perfectly. Moreover, it has already managed to form its secondary range in Eurasia. In Russia, he captured the very center of the country. He climbed into remote Siberia. The Far East itself did not bypass. Plus pieces in Central Asia. Cause? It was planted a lot in city gardens, parks and squares.

I'm sorry, move over

And it would be nothing if the guest just grew up in our places. He proved to be very unpretentious to any conditions. However, it takes root best in well-lit areas and, of course, in fertile black soil. He is remarkably active and agile. Growing rapidly. Polluted air does not harm him at all. Not afraid of winter. It is no coincidence that he has already reached Verkhoyansk and Yakutsk, where he calmly endures frosts of minus 55-60 and does not die.

Moreover, this alien is extremely aggressive in the first stage of its invasion. It reproduces intensively, scattering seeds around. Self-sowing, as the botanists say. As a result - a sharp violation of the normal development of ecosystems. Maple is steadily replacing native plants. The outlandish American, "escaping" from his homeland, has become a formidable weed for many places in southern Russia, also Siberia and even the Far East. This modest-looking tree has penetrated so deeply into our latitudes that it has become a big problem. It is a pity that so far there is no real fight against him.

Black book

Researchers of this problem know that in strong winds, seeds that resemble mini-helicopters in flight can fly more than one kilometer from their tree. In other words, you need to know how to get rid of the American maple. After all, the introduction and spread of many alien species (and this tree as well) can simply cause an irreversible and great ecological catastrophe. And Russia is not alone in the face of this situation.

Back in 2009, the Black Book of the Flora of Central Russia was published. It collected data on alien plants widespread in the country. There were 52 of them in total. The same European list is also mentioned.

For the resettlement of newcomers-weeds, it is necessary to conduct special control. In the Belgorod region, the Belogorye nature reserve is closely involved in this problem. There are already good developments. But research needs to go even further. And of course, support at the regional level.

The Belgorod regional administration constantly informs people about how dangerous the distribution of this tree is, and recommends not only not to plant it anywhere, but simply to destroy it.

Means of struggle

But how to breed an American maple? This is very difficult, if only because in Russia there is neither systemic nature management nor a clear conservation policy. Yes, and condition assessments environment. At the same time, many departments are divided. Meanwhile, the weed (popularly known as "bamboo") grows at an enormous rate. This increases the forthcoming expenses for its destruction.

Europe has long understood the considerable danger of this "guest" and is actively engaged in curbing its growth. Moreover, it is also a hotbed in our forests of a white American butterfly - a very voracious caterpillar.

In the meantime, individual local organizations and citizens in their garden plots are carrying out chemical soil treatment around the plants and along the border of their thickets. After all, this maple, as it turned out, does not tolerate some herbicides. The same glyphosate, for example.

There are also tools like "Tornado" and "Roundup", produced by various companies. They are very efficient. Good for cutting down trees. It is ideal to use the combined method: cut down the ash-leaved maples in the fall, and in the spring treat the shoots of young shoots that have appeared on the stumps and roots with herbicides.

And most importantly, these are universal measures to limit the spread of this weed. Which, by the way, is being successfully done in Belarus.