Plant, Tree & Shrub Library

Other Names:  Armstrong Gold Japanese Maple

Description:

A narrow, tightly fastigiate ornamental tree with great form; medium green foliage gives way to fall colors ranging from golden to orange; a great accent or street tree for smaller, confined spaces

Ornamental Features

Armstrong Gold Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive green deciduous foliage. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding orange in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Armstrong Gold Maple is a deciduous tree with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. 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 should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Armstrong Gold Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening

Planting & Growing

Armstrong Gold Maple will grow to be about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 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 medium 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 does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.