Shantung maple is a tough deciduous shade tree from northern China and Korea that has interest in all four seasons. In spring, yellowish green flowers decorate the twigs, which may have a slightly purple hue. The leaves emerge reddish and mature dark green, looking very much like those of Norway maple. In autumn, the leaves typically turn shades of yellow and orange, with possible blotches of red. The bark of this tree is gray, and looks like the battered and age-worn skin of a large elephant's leg.
Plant Shantung maple in full sun for best formation of its broadly rounded canopy. This maple is quite tough: hardy, tolerant of acidic and alkaline, dry locations, and urban sites. It should be used more widely. The smaller mature size of this shade tree makes it a superb choice for a backyard patio area or a small-scale park. (source: learn2grow.com)
Of easy cultivation, it prefers a good moist well-drained soil and a sunny position but tolerates some shade. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Chlorosis can sometimes develop as a result of iron deficiency when the plants are grown in alkaline soils, but in general maples are not fussy as to soil pH. Plants produce prodigious root growth but little top growth in first year from seed. This species is closely related to A. mono. Most maples are bad companion plants, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. (info source: pfaf.org)
Genus - Acer
Species - Truncatum
Common name - Shantung Maple
Pre-Treatment - Required
Hardiness zones - 3 - 8
Height - 20'-25' / 6 - 7.60 m
Spread - 25'-30' / 7 - 9 m
Plant type - Medium Tree
Vegetation type - Deciduous ornamental
Exposure - Full Sun, Partial Shade
Growth rate - Fast
Soil PH - Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Soil type - Clay, Loam, Well drained
Water requirements - Average Water
Landscape uses - Feature Plant, Shade Trees
Bloom season - Early Spring, Spring
Leaf / Flower color - Dark Green, in autumn - yellow, orange / Yellow, Yellow Green
1. Start the cold stratification process in the end of the beginning of the year.
2. Place the seeds in a glass bowl and cover with room temperature water. Allow the seeds to soak for a minimum of 24 hours but no longer than 48 hours.
3. Hold a handful of sterile peat planting medium under a running faucet until the peat is soaked. Squeeze most of the water out of the peat, leaving it moist but not soggy. Place the moist peat into a zip-lock plastic bag.
4. Remove the seeds from the bowl of water and rinse them off under clean running water. Place up to three seeds into the plastic bag containing the peat. Use more peat and plastic bags if you want to germinate more than three seeds.
5. Push the seeds into the peat and seal the plastic bag. Shake the bag to distribute the peat so that it covers the seeds completely. The seeds must be buried in the moist peat in order to germinate.
6. Place the sealed bag in the bottom of the refrigerator. This will serve as the cold stratification. The seeds need to be kept at +4-+7C (34-46F) for a minimum of 60 days, but not longer than 90 days.
7. Open the plastic bag periodically to make sure the peat is still moist. Add water as needed to restore the moisture.
8. Check the weather forecast after 35 days. You can plant the seeds outdoors if all danger of frost has passed. You can wait up to 55 more days, if there is still a possibility of frost and plant the seeds as late as early summer.
9. Plant the seeds by removing them from the peat and rinsing them with clean water. Bury the seeds ensuring that the seeds are covered. Keep the soil moist until the seeds sprout.
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