At our Garden Center the most sought after red-leaf shade tree is the Crimson King Maple. The Royal Red Maple tree looks like and grows about the same as Crimson King, but is not quite as hardy in Northern Michigan. Crimson King grows 30-35 feet tall and 20-25 feet wide. It is a deciduous tree that has purple-red leaves throughout the season. The fall color shows a little more reddish-purple than the summer leaf color.
The Crimson King is a Norway Maple (Acer palinodes ‘Crimson King’) and not a red maple. It contrasts well with other green-leaf maples and other deciduous trees and is often used as a specimen in a residential front or back yard. It transplants relatively easily, but we have found that after planting, the tree grows quite slowly for the first two to four years - then it will grow faster after it establishes.
There are upright forms of Crimson King Maple that can be used in areas of limited space or can be grown as a street tree. ‘Schwedler’ maple is a Norway Maple that has purple leaves (similar to Crimson King) in the spring. In the mid-summer the leaves gradually fade to a purple-green to almost green in the late summer. Debra Maple is a more recently improved variety of the ‘Schwedler’ maple.
Other red-leaf trees such as Frost Birch and Royal Frost Birch are red-leaf birch trees that have a creamy white bark. They can be grown as a clump or grown as a single stem tree. Blood Good Japanese Maple and red-leaf birch can produce shade, but not nearly as much as the Crimson King Maple. Royalty Flowering Crab has purple-red leaves with small crab apple fruit that persists well into the winter.
The Crimson King is a Norway Maple (Acer palinodes ‘Crimson King’) and not a red maple. It contrasts well with other green-leaf maples and other deciduous trees and is often used as a specimen in a residential front or back yard. It transplants relatively easily, but we have found that after planting, the tree grows quite slowly for the first two to four years - then it will grow faster after it establishes.
There are upright forms of Crimson King Maple that can be used in areas of limited space or can be grown as a street tree. ‘Schwedler’ maple is a Norway Maple that has purple leaves (similar to Crimson King) in the spring. In the mid-summer the leaves gradually fade to a purple-green to almost green in the late summer. Debra Maple is a more recently improved variety of the ‘Schwedler’ maple.
Other red-leaf trees such as Frost Birch and Royal Frost Birch are red-leaf birch trees that have a creamy white bark. They can be grown as a clump or grown as a single stem tree. Blood Good Japanese Maple and red-leaf birch can produce shade, but not nearly as much as the Crimson King Maple. Royalty Flowering Crab has purple-red leaves with small crab apple fruit that persists well into the winter.
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