Acer x conspicuum Silver Cardinal - Maple

The Acer x conspicuum 'Silver Cardinal' is an absolutely remarkable hybrid maple with a "snake skin" bark. It is a small tree with extremely decorative bark and foliage. This variety is characterised by a young red bark veined with white, red young shoots, and spring leaves variegated with pink and green. In autumn, they turn yellow with pink variegation. When leafless, its branches are pleasant to contemplate in winter. Its modest size and slow growth make this small tree a good candidate for small gardens, to be placed prominently.                                                  

The Acer x conspicuum 'Silver Cardinal' belongs, like all maples, to the Sapindaceae family (formerly Aceraceae). This hybrid is said to have originated from a seedling of the striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) and was introduced by Windsor Great Park (GB) in 1985. Other authors classify it as an Acer x conspicuum. 'Silver Cardinal' is a deciduous tree with slow growth, reaching barely 5m in height and 2.5 to 3m in spread at the age of 20. It develops a fairly short trunk topped with a semi-spreading crown, less dense than that of the Acer davidii. The young branches are red, the young bark of the branches is red veined with white. The older branches and trunk, whose pattern resembles that of a snake skin in the process of shedding, are longitudinally striated with white. The deciduous foliage appears in spring and falls in autumn. The leaves, arranged oppositely on the branches, have 2 small lobes at their base and measure about 6 to 8 cm in length. When they bud burst, they are variously maculated and speckled with pink on a green background. They become greener in summer, while retaining some variegation here and there. Before falling in October, their colour is yellow with pink variegation. The red petiole that carries them matches well with the colour of the lamina in autumn. In June, a rather insignificant flowering gives way to winged fruits called samaras, measuring 3 to 5 cm in length.

The Acer x conspicuum 'Silver Cardinal' is a small tree that prefers non-burning sun or partial shade and non-limestone, not too dry soils. If your garden can provide these conditions that it appreciates, it will become the centrepiece. This variety will find its place in small gardens, highlighted in the centre of an ericaceous soil bed surrounded by simple-shaped perennials such as hostas, ferns, or Japanese grasses (Hakonechloa), for example, plants that will not overshadow its personality.