BRITAIN’S GOT GARDENS
Acers are great garden trees and at Westonbir t they put on a dramatically blazing show
When autumn rolls in, the leaves begin to blush. Under grey skies, they blaze fier y shades for a few magical weeks. Some of the best trees for October colour are the Japanese maples (Acer palmatum and A. japonicum), which burn such intense shades of gold or scarlet that they stop you in your tracks.
The National Arboretum at Westonbir t in Gloucestershire is one of the top places to enjoy acers at this time of year because it holds two National Collections of these wonder ful trees. As well as 297 different cultivars of Japanese maple, Westonbir t has other fascinating species such as the snake bark maple, which has butter bronze leaves in autumn.
The Holford family began planting maples when they established the arboretum in the 1870s and the collection of Japanese maples was star ted in the 1980s. Today visitors flock to the 600-acre arboretum in autumn to see the maples glowing crimson, copper and honey, like a forest of fire.
The reason some trees turn gold at this time of year is that they stop producing the green pigment chlorophyll. This means that yellow pigments (carotenoids) usually masked by chlorophyll become visible, so plants with high levels of carotenoids (such as our native Acer campestre) glow butterscotch. Scarlet foliage, on the other hand, occurs if plants produce red pigments (anthocyanins) to protect leaves from sunlight so that nutrients can be absorbed before they fall. This is why the best red autumn tints are often produced by plants growing in sun-baked and poor soil.
So if you’re growing a red-leaved acer at home, it needs a daily dose of sun. However, acers dislike scorching full sun – especially those with green leaves. A site in semishade is best. They also need shelter from wind and neutral to acid soil. Once their preferred conditions are met, they are fabulous garden trees, with a shor t spreading habit and unbeatable autumn colour.
● For further information of visiting the National Arboretum at Westonbir t, go to forestryengland.uk/ westonbirt-the-nationalarboretum or call
0300 0674890.