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Maple Tatarsky: a description of this ornamental tree or shrub
Tatar maple among ornamental trees and shrubs stands out for its attractive appearance and unpretentious cultivation. Look at the description of the different varieties, select and plant the one that suits your site.
Description of the Tatar maple
This small tree, called chernoklen, often looks like a bush, is common in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Europe and Asia. It grows singly or in groups on the edges of forests, along ravines and rivers, reaching 9, rarely 12 m in height. It has thin branches with smooth or reddish-brown, slightly downy bark and wide, dark buds and a trunk with a gray tint and dark grooves.
In autumn, the Tatar maple stands out for its bright color
The crown is dense, compact, oval in shape. The leaves are arranged in pairs, like a trident or ellipse with small teeth along the edge. They bloom early, in summer they are bright green above and pale below, and in autumn they change color, becoming orange or red.
Flowering lasts only 3 weeks. Leaves grow at this time, panicles with white flowers on yellow sepals appear. At the end of June, in their place, raspberry two-winged fruits develop, which ripen by September and become reddish-brown. Sorts “Red”, “Ginnala”, “False-planan”, “Manchurian” differ in crown, shape and color of leaves.
This plant grows well in various types of soil, even with increased salinity. It is resistant to frost and drought, easily tolerates gas-polluted and dusty air, therefore it is suitable for growing in large cities.
Seedlings of any subspecies can be purchased in the nursery or grown independently from seeds, cuttings, cuttings. When growing ornamental maples, you need to consider the following features:
- Choose an open space. The tree is undemanding to light, but it must be borne in mind that in shaded areas the color of the leaves will not be so bright.
- Prepare the pits. If the area is too humid, add a layer of rubble to the bottom for drainage. Mix soil with peat, compost and sand, add mineral fertilizers.
- Moderate watering. In dry weather, pour a bucket of water onto the tree once a week; if it rains, do this once a month.
- Loosening. Avoid compaction of the earth, pull out weeds, mulch with peat.
- Pruning. In the spring, you need to remove dried and diseased branches, give the crown the desired shape.
The life span of such a maple is more than 100 years. If you pay even a minimum of attention to it, it will retain its decorative properties.
This species is especially beautiful in autumn, but looks good all year round. It can be used as a hedge, for ornamental plantings, decoration of roadsides and water bodies.