Species · Deciduous trees like maple and elm
Field maple
Acer campestre
Field maple is a smaller-leaved, tougher relative of the ornamental maples, tolerant of a wider range of soils and conditions than Japanese or trident maple, with bark that corks and furrows attractively with age. It colours a warm yellow in autumn rather than the reds some maples show, and backbuds reliably after pruning.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Never let it dry out fully in leaf. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 1 in summer, 2 in autumn and 7 in winter.
- Light
- Full sun to light shade.
- Winter
- Hardy once established; loses its leaves and rests through winter. Protect it when the forecast drops below -8 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 14 days, Apr to Sep, paused in the hottest weeks.
- Repotting
- Every 2 to 3 years, as buds swell, in Feb or Mar.
- Growth
- Moderate growth. Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | Mar | Apr | Nov | |||||||||
| Wire | Jan | Feb | Mar | Sep | Nov | Dec | ||||||
| Pinch | May | Jun | Jul | |||||||||
| Defoliate | Jun |