Acer campestre Postelense - Field Maple

Acer campestre 'Postelense' is a variety of field maple which is rare in cultivation. It is a small deciduous tree with a variable habit, rather wide, and shorter than the wild species. It has a slow growth rate but stands out for its yellow foliage, as bright as a forsythia in spring. It will find a place in a collector's garden, placed prominently, or integrated into a field hedge. It is hardy and grows in a wide range of soils, but it dislikes intense sunlight.

Acer campestre 'Postelense' was discovered, in its natural state, by Von Salisch in Postel (Poland) and was first introduced in Germany in 1896. The wild field maple is native to Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa, and is more of a forest tree than a field tree. The cultivar 'Postelense' develops a rather short trunk topped by a wide, spreading crown, with a variable shape depending on the individual. It has a slow growth rate and will reach a height of less than 5m and form a crown 2.5 to 3m wide if not pruned. The foliage of this deciduous maple consists of smaller leaves than those of the wild species, showing 3 to 5 lobes, attached to the branch by a red petiole. When they appear in spring, their colour is a very bright lemon yellow. In summer, they become greener while retaining a touch of yellow. Autumn and the first cold weather colour the foliage in shades of golden yellow, more or less coppery or orange. The very discreet flowering takes place in spring, at the same time as the leaves emerge. The small flowers are greenish and grouped in corymbs. They are followed by winged, often reddish fruits, called samaras. The wings of this fruit are opposite and perfectly aligned. The field maple forms the hardest wood that can be found in this genus. Its bark is pale grey and fissured. The branches of young individuals often show a corky, ribbed, insulating bark, used for making perches for poultry, which earned it the popular name of "chicken wood".

Field Maple 'Postelense' is an accommodating small tree, it grows in any ordinary soil, even limestone and fairly dry, as long as it is deep enough. The colour of its foliage is less golden, but more beautiful in partial shade. It will be enhanced at the centre of a bed of small shrubs with dark foliage such as Physocarpus 'Little Joker' or Berberis thunbergii 'Concorde', for example. A bed of Geranium 'Rozanne' with long-lasting blue flowers will form a radiant combination with its golden foliage. In a field hedge, it can be mixed with spindles with autumn colours, hawthorns, and ornamental crabapples.