Acer campestre - bareroot field maple whips

Acer Campestre hedging

These Field Maple are seedling hedge plants. This medium sized native tree is a classic component of a mixed country hedge, suitable for almost any soil and location. The common or field maple is a fast growing plant that responds well to hard pruning. This makes it ideal for country hedges, which are often trimmed roughly with large strimmers. It also makes a beautiful ornamental tree, with a round canopy of twiggy branches that is useful for screening and windbreaks. Field maple has cork-like ridges on its young stems and it is often planted on the edge of woodland. The small yellow-green flowers aren't really visible amongst the new spring leaves but they are great for bees. The flowers mature into winged seeds. It grows almost anywhere and thrives in both chalk and heavy clay. Field maple leaves in autumn are a clear, warm golden-yellow.

Field Maple will reach about 15-25 metres if it grows freely as a tree. The plants on this page are young saplings, ideal for planting as hedging or in woodland projects. You can also buy larger Field Maple trees here. View our selection of native hedging or see our full range of hedging plants.

Field Maple hedge plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).

Spacing a Field Maple hedge:

Plant Field Maple hedging at 3 plants per metre, 33cms apart. You can also plant Field Maple at 5 plants per metre in a staggered double row, with 33 cms between each plant along the row and 40cms between the rows.

History & uses of Acer campestre:

Field maple trees aren't big enough to provide much useful timber for large objects, but the wood is strong, flexible and polishes beautifully. It is used for things like wooden bowls, decorative elements of furniture and other ornamental household items. The wood burns very well after a few months of seasoning and maple trees can be coppiced to provide fuel.