Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum

Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum

The Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum, also known as the Red Cappadocian Maple, or Blood Maple, has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit AGM for the interest it brings to the UK landscape with its three seasons of foliage colour. Native to Turkey, the Causcasus and as far east as China, the Red Cappadocian maple is named for its distinctive spring foliage. The large, 5-lobed leaves are a brilliant crimson when they emerge in the spring before turning a dark green in the summer. In the autumn they change to a deep golden shade. The leaves are not the only red thing about the Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum, as the young stems hold a red colour for the first few years, creating an attractive contrast with the green and yellow leaves. 

Reliably winter-hardy throughout the UK, the Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum will grow fairly quickly into a good-sized tree, but can take 20 to 50 years to reach its full height of 15 metres and spread of 10 metres. It will need little or no pruning to maintain the round shape of its dense crown.

Carefully choose the planting location for your Red Cappadocian maple for best results. It will grow best in a sheltered position facing south with full sun or partial shade. The Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum prefers a moist but well-drained sandy or loamy soil with an alkaline to neutral ph. It will not do well in a windy location. 

This magnificent tree needs to be carefully sited with its eventual large size kept in mind. The Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum is not suitable in a small garden where it would quickly outgrow its bounds. In a medium-sized garden, it makes an excellent specimen planting for a lawn, where its spring and autumn colour would provide a spectacular show, and the summer foliage would give welcome shade. 

On a country property, there are many uses for the Red Cappadocian maple. They are a good choice for lining an avenue or roadway, with their large size, round crown, and brilliant spring and autumn foliage show. A group of Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum placed in the landscape of a larger property would create a colourful focal point in season and a shady spot in the summer. 

The Acer Cappadocicum Rubrum has many excellent qualities to recommend it as a landscape tree to UK gardeners. Its brilliant spring and autumn foliage and attractive shape will give pleasure to your eyes year-round!