Bloomin' Beautiful
THIS year The Senior celebrates 40 years since its inception. The gemstone for 40 years is the ruby, which, of course, is red in colour – hence my “red article”.
Acer rubrum – the red maple – is native to many of the colder areas of the US, mainly in New England, where there are millions of trees.
It is the state tree for Rhode IsUnfortunatelynately, it has weed potential in some places, though not Australia. Isn’t this often the case? Not only are weeds tough, they can also be incredibly beautiful.
The red maple generally has the normal maple leaf, though in some trees this varies a little; I’m not sure why. It is a medium to large tree (18-27 metres) with a nice shape.
Twigs are often red. The flowers are small and insignificant but produce interesting wing-shaped fruits that float in the breeze and take root where they drop if the soil and conditions are right.
The red maple is a deciduous tree, whose leaves colour up beautifully in autumn. To see whole hillsides of maple, with other autumn coloured trees and conifers interspersed, is to witness one of the horticultural wonders of the world.
How do “autumn-leaved” trees get their hue? Hidden in the leaves is lots of colour.
When the tree grows in spring and summer this colour is disguised by the green. But when autumn comes (and especially if there are cold nights), the tree senses it has to protect itself for the winter by shedding its leaves.
As the sap stops flowing for the season the green in the leaves disappears and shows the underlying colour. The leaves then drop and make a natural mulch as well as relieving the tree from the “work” of keeping them going through the winter. The tree, thus, goes to “sleep”.
This way it survives the wind and snow. Some types show very little colour but others, like our subject, are a “fire” of glory.
You can buy this tree here and I like to think it cheers us up when the botanical year is waning. Buy yours now while you can see its potential colour.
