Digging deeperPlant Library

Pacific Sunset Maple

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Description:

Beautiful glossy green leaves with pale undersides and stunning fall colours in yellow-orange to red make this a great shade tree for the home landscape, also makes a nice street tree; maintains a consistently rounded shape, adaptable to heat and drought

Ornamental Features

Pacific Sunset Maple has dark green foliage with light green undersides on a tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. The glossy lobed leaves turn outstanding shades of yellow, orange and red in the fall. The rough gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Pacific Sunset Maple is a deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Pacific Sunset Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Shade

Planting & Growing

Pacific Sunset Maple will grow to be about 30 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.