Vine Maple
Acer circinatum, 1 gal.
Description: NW native Vine Maple, a small deciduous tree, has some of the best fall colors of all natives. It's a tough little guy that does well as an understory beneath tall evergreens. A quick grower to 10-15 feet, it has multiple trunks and spreads to 20' widths, much like a vine. It likes moisture but will thrive in drought after established as long as it has a little shade (does not enjoy intense heat). Blooms with white flowers in spring. A lovely addition to any landscape and provides local wildlife with food and nesting places. A good choice for the artistic gardener, Vine Maple can be trained as a tree with single trunk, it's pliable branches can be bent to shapes of bonsai, trained along a fence, only your imagination sets a limit on ways to use this delightful native.
photo credit: Molalla River in autumn, BLM Oregon and Washington, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 DEED; Vine Maple Flowers, Marcia and Mike Nelson Pedde, Flickr, Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED; Acer circinatum, OSU, Fickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
