Acer negundo 'FLAMINGO'

Shapes and colours are usually the key features of Japanese maples. But there are other maples, too, that can offer other than green colour plus various leaf shapes. And on top of that they grow much faster.

This is ash-leaved maple, also called box elder. Flamingo is so far the best-selling variety with deciduous, pinnate leaves, composed of 3-7 individual leaflets that are deep green in the centres, variegated white along the margins and with bright pink flush on new foliage. This third colour appears also later in summer when new leaves are produced. In the nursery trade you can get shrub forms as well as half-standards and also standard trees, all of which show a dense habit and plentiful of colourful foliage to admire.

Ash-leaved maple is a fast grower which can be pruned to achieve dense plants in smaller sizes or left to its own devices and you can be assured that it will develop a nice shape naturally once established. It can take almost any well-drained soil but prefers constant moisture. Grow it in full sun or a very light shade. Very hardy to approx. -45°C (USDA zone 2).

Last update 08-02-2011