This beautiful plant adorns different regions of the Earth. Maples in large numbers inhabit the parks and gardens of Russia and delight the eye with their unique beauty at any time of the year. Although almost all of its species are unique and attractive in the form and color of their leaves, they look especially original in autumn.
General information about maples
Maples are deciduous trees or shrubs (5-40 meters high), characterized by symmetrical leaves and a variety of shades in autumn.
Autumn maple - a tree from which it is impossible to take your eyes off. Often, people passing by have a desire to capture it in memory for a long time. In total, there are about 150 different species, while each of them has its own characteristics and growing conditions. Maple flowers, arranged vertically in inflorescences, come in yellow, green and red. It primarily depends on the type of plant. Ripe fruits contain seeds, and they are collected in winged clusters. Maples are self-pollinating plants.good honey plants. They grow fast enough.
Distribution
Autumn maple is an adornment of many parts of the world. The plant is notable for its unpretentiousness, therefore it is suitable even for beginner gardeners.
In Eurasia and North America, they mainly grow in temperate latitudes, but in Asia they are also found in the tropics. You can find them in the mountains of Borneo and on the island of Sumatra, as well as in the Philippines and Malaysia. Some varieties of maple also grow in the Mediterranean. These trees can be found in Japan. Maple grows especially extensively in the provinces of China: Hubei, Yunnan, Sichuan. There are suggestions that these places are also the place of origin of the plant, from where the further settlement of the species began.
Maple is considered a mountain plant, but some of its species are common in the plains. Many of them are quite suitable for cultivation in fertile conditions in the cities of Russia (middle lane).
Maples are relatively thermophilic plants, especially Japanese and Chinese species. However, many of them can easily withstand the northern winters of Russia. As a rule, in nature they do not form any continuous plantations. Trees grow interspersed with other broad-leaved species, a little less often with conifers. Therefore, the autumn maple in the forest is a relatively rare, but surprisingly beautiful bright spot among other vegetation.
Some varieties
Let's list the main varieties that can be foundworldwide:
- Red maple is a tree 10-20 meters high, 4-7 meters wide. The crown of the fast-growing maple is large, compact, and the bark is flaky, dark gray. The five-lobed leaves have a beautiful bronze color during blooming, in summer they turn green, and in autumn they become amazingly decorative: red-purple or orange on the upper side, pinkish-silver on the lower side. And the fragrant flowers of this species have a red tint, and they bloom even before the leaves. Naturally, this maple is found in North America (eastern regions) in wetlands.
- Fan-shaped maple is a slow-growing shrub (height - 4-6 meters) with an umbrella-shaped rounded crown. With age, the plant grows in width. Young shoots are green or purple. The leaves are palmately lobed, graceful, becoming a bright red hue over time. Autumn maple leaves are very beautiful - purple. It occurs naturally in Korea, Japan, central and eastern China.
- Manchurian maple is a beautiful slender tree up to 20 meters high, with a rounded, high openwork crown. Its bark is light gray with small cracks. Graceful complex, trifoliate leaves are reddish-orange in spring, dark green in summer, and purplish red in autumn. The Manchu maple grows naturally in Korea, Primorsky Krai and China (northeast).
- Green-bark maple is a tree or a very large shrub up to 15 meters high with a wide spherical crown. This species is distinguished by its decorative bark. Young peopleplants it is green, and on an old tree it is gray. Autumn maple leaf - golden yellow. Naturally found in mixed forests with moist soil in Korea, Primorsky Krai and northeast China.
- Ash-leaved maple (or American) is an asymmetric tree, distinguished by its rapid growth. Height - 10-15 meters, crown width - 5-10 meters. Green leaves turn yellowish-green in autumn. Shoots are green, with a waxy coating of a bluish tint. Naturally found in central North America.
- The bearded maple is a relatively small tree or shrub (from 4 to 10 meters in height) with a spreading crown. The five-lobed leaves are slightly pubescent on top. Their length can reach 10 cm. The autumn maple leaf has a yellow-orange hue. Grows naturally in North Korea, Primorsky Krai and northeastern China.
Maples of Russia
In addition to the above species, more heat-loving plants should also be noted, which are not used in landscaping gardens and parks in central Russia, but take root well in the southern territories of the country:
- hornbeam;
- maple of David;
- paper brown (or grey);
- Hyrcanian;
- Georgian;
- Japanese;
- light;
- pubescent;
- Montpelian;
- Steven maple;
- califolia;
- four-dimensional;
- dull velvety;
- Trautvetter maple.
Autumn maple color of any of these speciesvaries from yellow to deep red. The above is an incomplete list of maple varieties that are perfectly acclimatized in some parts of the vast territory of Russia.
Plane Maple
The holly maple is a traditional symbol of autumn in Russia. Its leaves are large, they have a five-pointed, carved and very beautiful shape. It is thanks to the unique shape and colors that it is easy to find among all the autumn splendor. Autumn maple leaf is a real miracle.
This fast-growing tree can reach a height of up to 20-30 meters and a width of up to 8-15 m. The crown of such a maple is dense and rounded. Young trees have smooth, reddish-gray bark. In older plants, it is usually darker, and sometimes becomes almost black. It also shows deep cracks. The leaves are green, five-lobed. In autumn, their color changes from orange-yellow to red. Flowers open at the same time as the leaves in mid-May.
In nature, this species is distributed throughout Europe. Holly maple is picky and can grow on any forest and garden land, except acidic and sandy. In addition, it does not tolerate excessive salinity and stagnation of moisture in the soil. Maple species is quite resistant to cold winds.
The Caucasus and the European part of Russia are considered his homeland.
Today, there are a huge variety of decorative forms and varieties of Norway maple, which are used for growing in parks and gardens.
Description of autumn maple
In the summermaples are skillfully camouflaged in an emerald green mass. But with the onset of autumn, forests and parks are painted in completely different colors. Especially against the background of the general mass, bright maple trees with leaves of a peculiar shape stand out.
With the onset of late autumn in gardens, parks, groves and forests, trees are exposed in anticipation of winter. But even at this time of the year, bright colors have not yet been wiped off the face of the earth. They are under your feet. Yellow, orange, brown, red, burgundy and even green leaves cover the nondescript dark earth with an amazing bright carpet. They sparkle in the rays of the autumn, but still warm sun. Of course, maple leaves shine with special beauty. Some even cast gold. And all of them are surprisingly different not only in their shade, but also in skillful carving. This is a real miracle of nature.
Autumn maple is always in sight. At the same time, one tree can be covered with a whole palette of colors, but a red tint almost always dominates. Maple pleases with its beauty and splendor for a long time, because it does not immediately surrender to winter. Its crown remains intact until late autumn.
Application
Autumn maple is one of the most beautiful deciduous trees. It looks great on the adjoining and summer cottage, in city parks and alleys. The plant is used both in solitary and in group plantings. For example, dwarf maple is good in rocky gardens - rock gardens and rockeries. Low-growing trees of this species are suitable for a Japanese garden. Tatar maple is often used to create living walls and hedges.
And in mixed plantings maple is used, for example, together with conifers. Higher species can be planted in the garden next to the future seating area.
Bouquet with autumn maple branches
Any room can be decorated with a bouquet of maple leaves. For this, it is best to collect them early in the morning.
At night, the autumn wind rips leaves from maple trees and scatters them on the ground, so in the morning you can collect leaves that are not yet damaged, on which there will be no black dots and any dark spots. Toward evening, only shriveled and limp maple leaves remain.
Conclusion
Autumn maple alleys are a mesmerizing sight with their amazing splendor. Walks in such parks fill a person with strength, energy and good mood for the whole day. If you want to take a piece of maple with you, then pay attention to its beautiful leaves, from which you can make a wonderful bouquet.
