Elsrijk Field Maple Trees

Acer campestre Elsrijk Maples Trees

‘Elsrijk’ is a handsome, cultivated field maple that’s often used as an urban street or parkland tree. It’s a tough, hardy customer that will thrive in almost any soil conditions, including near the coast, wet sites, and in compacted urban soils.
The dark green foliage turns the most beautiful golden shade of butterscotch yellow in autumn.
It can reach 10 metres tall and 6 metres wide in about 25 years, ideal for most gardens.

For a very similar, even narrower cultivar, try Acer streetwise.
Browse our other maple trees, our trees for small gardens, or all of our garden trees.

Features:

• Brilliant for smaller gardens
• Neat, compact canopy
• Tolerates urban pollution
• Magnificent autumn colour
• Native (technically)
• RHS Plants for Pollinators
• To 10m
• Bareroot Delivery Only: Nov-Mar

Growing Elsrijk 

Maples are generally easy to grow. Pests like aphids and caterpillars should be dealt with on young trees to get them off to a strong start, but after that good gardening practices, such as appropriate weeding and feeding, together with our range of organic garden products, will help keep your trees healthy and beautiful.

‘Elsrijk’ makes a handsome stand-alone specimen tree, or looks great in groves. It makes an effective component of a ‘green’ garden, combined with formal hedges, whether evergreen box or yew, or neatly clipped beech.
It would be a great choice for a tree lined drive, underplanted with spring bulbs.

Did you know?

‘Elsrijk’ was bred in Holland by Chris Pieter Broerse (1902-1995) and introduced in 1953. Elsrijk is a district in Amstelveen, where Chris did much of his life's work as a garden architect; Amstelveen's Broersepark is named after him.

Acer campestre belongs to the Sapindaceae family. Acers are deciduous trees and shrubs with attractive lobed, often palmate leaves, small flowers and winged ‘helicopter’ fruits called samara.

‘Elsrijk’ field maples will grow in pretty much any soil! They were bred in Holland to cope with soggy ground, and do well in compacted urban roadside soils. They thrive best on fertile, mildly acidic soils, but will do fine on chalk and limestone as long as you mulch around them to maintain soil moisture and fertility. They are very hardy and wind resistant, ideal for the coast and exposed locations.
For the best colour on new growth, choose a spot with at least half a day’s sun. 

Ideally prep your soil a couple of months in advance. Destroy the weeds: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough. If hand weeding is impossible, use a non-residual weedkiller. Dig over the soil, getting rid of any stones, then mix in some well-rotted compost or manure to the depth of two spades.

Make a hole at least half as large again as the root system. Bang in a stake on the windward side, position the tree, backfill with compost and a handful of Root Grow, firm in and water well. Watch our video on how to plant a tree for details.