Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Acer truncatum, 1 by malusman

malusman wrote:
I was wondering what experience anyone has had with A. truncatum, especially on fall color. I bought a small plant some years ago from Ridge Road Nursery. I chose it from the other because of a great mix of red/purple and yellow fall color. Gene was a bit reluctant to part with it but decided to let me buy it. After that first year, it refused to make much color, usually a dirty yellow with a bit of dirty red. I began to think that it was in need of a bit of shade (I bought it from a shady area of the Nursery) to make fall color. Finally, this year, it decided to put on a show. Interior leaves golden yellow, outer leaves, reddish purple. One reason that I'm more interested than I should be is that the tree seems very tough. Last year in our really bad drought, my A. truncatum had it's best year of growth ever. It grew about 2.5', not slowing down a bit for the long, hot, dry period. Foliage stayed a nice shiny green showing no stress. It seems that this kind of a plant would be very welcome in the semi-arid west. They are woefully short on different kinds of trees that will survive for any extended period of time. Perhaps our Colorado members can confirm that for sure. Of course, everyone is invited to weigh in on any aspect of the plant.

Regards,

Ernie