Pleached Field Maple, Pleached Hedge Maple

Field Maple, Hedge Maple – Acer campestre ‘Elsrijk’ (Aceraceae)

Acer Campestre Elsrijk, known as the Field Maple, is a small to medium sized tree which grows to 12m tall on average. A native to much of Europe, the United Kingdom, Southwest Asia, Turkey and North Africa (Atlas Mountains). It has been widely been planted and introduced outside its native range in areas such as Europe, the USA and Western Australia as well as other countries with suitable climates.

It is a medium sized deciduous tree ideally suited to training in a variety of forms due to its natural close-knit habit, twiggy branches and dark, dense, upright conical to oval crown. Regularly pruned it becomes almost impenetrable. The versatile tree produces beautiful small, slightly pinkish to green leaves in spring, which turn a darker shade of green as the seasons progress. The ‘Elsrijk’ shows a good resistant to mildew. The bark and branches are an attractive dark grey, with an almost corky texture. In May small green-yellow flowers are produced and in autumn the leaves turn a beautiful golden yellow to producing an excellent splash of colour. The tree produces a winged like nut fruit which is relatively speaking inconsequential when taking garden maintenance into consideration. Happy on fertile well drained soil it will thrive in most soil conditions – apart from dry infertile sandy soils.

Field Maple enjoy being planted in areas surrounded by hard landscaping. They have a strong resistance to wind and are considered winter hardy. They do reasonably well in coastal gardens. Coming into contact with the tree and sap can cause skin irritation in some people.

It is important not to carry out any pruning or maintenance work on this tree in the spring months due to the early sap flow – doing so can cause the bark to swell and split. The trees are valuable to bees and butterflies. It is shade-tolerant during the initial stages of its life, but it requires improved light conditions to produce seed. The tree exhibits rapid growth initially, but in its natural environment on the forest floor it is eventually overtaken by larger more vigorous trees and growth slows.

Pleached Acer Campestre Elsrijk is available throughout the winter months with wire rootballs. Potted stock while stocks last and Cocoa rootball by prior arrangement. Overall a popular tree which is widely used throughout the UK and Europe in various forms including natural trees, hedge plants, pleached trees or screens on stem, columns, blocks and blocks/box on stem and espalier trees. Available as rootball plants in the winter months, potted stock available while stocks last and cocoa rootball can be arranged for delivery throughout summer period by prior arrangement.

Planting advice for Pleached trees, Freshly Pleached trees, Espalier trees and Freshly Espaliered trees.

An important consideration when planting pleached or espalier trees in a straight line is the slope of the ground. Pleached or Espalier trees look their best when they are planted on flat or gently sloping ground. Doing so will line up the frames and stems and creating effect of one continuous line when viewed at all angles. Even on a gradual slope this effect can be achieved. However, with a slope of more than 10-12 degrees, it may be necessary to step the trees/frames when planting (the frames on freshly pleached trees can be manipulated to account for a sharper slope of perhaps 15 degree if necessary).

To create a good visual effect, it is important to line up the stems and frames (unless you are planting them in a circle or semi-circle). To start off the planting holes should measure roughly double the width of the rootball or pot….

Read our full planting guide here

How are Pleached Trees made?

Pleached trees or screen trees start life as a seedling or cutting, much like any other tree, being repotted or replanted a number of times in their formative years. They grow happily on the nursery with hundreds or even thousands of other trees. When the time is right, highly skilled nurserymen and woman go out into the field amongst the trees with tags in hand and pick the very best trees for pleaching. The criteria for choosing the best trees for training includes, selecting those with the straightest stems, healthy root stock and appropriately spreading and uninform crowns. Once tagged and lifted the trees are loaded onto trailers and sent to potting sheds for training. Read our full guide to pleaching trees here

Delivery varies depending on:

• How many trees you require
• If you want us to plant them
• Accessibility of the site
• If any need sourcing
• The seasonal ability to lift or plant specific species

  Please contact us to discuss your individual requirements.