‘Fire Dragon’ TM Shandong Maple. PP #17,367.
The first truncatum cultivar was ‘Fire Dragon’ ®. A chance seedling in 1999 it was so brilliant red in the fall that propagation began in year 2002 and by 2006 there were already 4,000 of them from one small seedling. It is a little lighter green than normal in summer after starting the year with a distinctive burnt orange coloration. Summer growth colors can be red but never the usual reddish-purplish. The leaf is smaller than typical with prominent teeth, sometimes with rearwards facing basal lobes (not truncate), and the 5 leaf lobes are equal in size giveing a rounded, more elegant appearance. (Trees grown in cooler climates may have longer central lobes and more wavy margins.) Vigorous to 35 feet tall and wide.
‘Fire Dragon’ ® is Available at:
Metro Maples, Fort Worth, TX
Tree Town USA, Winnsboro, TX
Sooner Plant Farm, Park Hill, OK
Munn’s Nursery, Brooks, OR
Greenleaf Nursery, Park Hill, OK
The Tree Place, Fort Worth, TX
Acer truncatum ‘Mainstreet’ TM PP#20109
A rival to ‘Fire Dragon’, it grows with an upright pyramidal shape to 30 feet tall by 20 feet wide. Central leaf lobe is longer and leaf base is truncate. Introduced by Mark Weathington, currently Director at JC Raulston Arboretum.
Available at:
Hale and Hines Nursery, McMinniville, TN
Bold Springs Nursery, Hawkinsville, GA
Acer truncatum ‘Baby Dragon’ TM (PP# 26,612)
Small leaf dwarf - dense, mounding and weeping habit.
Grows to 12 feet high by 15 feet wide in twenty years but more upright in shade. Exhibits exceptional pink to purplish-red new growth color all year long. Yellow fall color that can be mixed with red and orange, and even pink especially in cooler climates. A vigorous grower that is also well suited for patio or bonsai use. Can be pruned to any shape.
‘Baby Dragon’ ® is available at Metro Maples. Also Rare Tree Nursery - Conifer Kingdom.
Acer truncatum ’Super Dragon’ TM (PP#26,414)
A mid-size Shandong maple with exceptional greenish-yellow leaf color all growing season. New growth is orange, pink or pinkish-red over the yellow leaves. Main leaf veins are a much lighter yellow to white, and a striking contrast. Grows to 15 feet tall to 20 feet wide in a fountain shape with long branches but small side branches. Takes the hot sun better than most yellow leaf maples but should receive some afternoon, or late afternoon protection in extremely hot climates (like Texas).
Available at Metro Maples.
Acer truncatum x A. platanoides ‘Crimson Sunset’ TM (PP# 21,838)
A hybrid cross of Shandong with Norway maple with purple leaves that persist throughout summer with increased heat tolerance from its Shandong parent. Very similar tree in all appearances to Norway maple ‘Crimson King’ has a pyramidal shape 35 ‘ x 25’. Other new hybrids include ‘Norwegian Sunset’®, ‘Pacific Sunset’®, ‘Ruby Sunset’®, and ‘Urban Sunset’®.
Available at J. Frank Schmidt Nursery, Boring, OR.
Mid-size cultivars:
Acer truncatum ‘Doric Dragon’
Columnar to 40 feet tall by 15 feet wide. Summer growth a deep purplish-red with a normal truncate leaf shape. Attractive bark. Listed as mid-size as even though it gets tall, the trunk and branches are smaller than normal for a tree of this height. Yellow fall colors.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Acer truncatum ‘Fiya Dragon’
Very similar to ‘Fire Dragon’® except ‘Fiya Dragon’ has a much slow growth rate and smaller leaves. Leaves are about half the size and also have wavy margins (see center above comparing the larger ‘Fire Dragon’ ®and the smaller ‘Fiya Dragon’ and even smaller ‘Flower God’). Growth rate on ‘Fiya Dragon’ is one foot per year to 15 feet.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Acer truncatum ‘Golden Dragon’
Selected from many trees that had a leaf with prominent teeth and backward facing basal lobes that would also color-up at the same time, and compliment ‘Fire Dragon’. Mature height 25 feet by 35 feet wide. Vigorous growth, especially horizontally, giving a little weeping appearance when branches are full of leaves. Fall color is usually solid golden yellow. Summer growth is a bright reddish-purple.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Skinny Dragon.
Acer truncatum ‘Skinny Dragon’
Narrow skinny lobes with wavy margins and slightly rolled that will flatten out in the heat. Vigorous grower to 20 feet tall and 18 feet wide. Fall colors are yellow but can be orange to red.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Sugar Dragon
Acer truncatum ‘Sugar Dragon’
Variegated cultivar with lots of pink and yellow new growth, turning to green and white. Yellow fall color.
A stable variegation pattern is now occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Acer truncatum ’TARP Dragon’ - renamed ‘Griffin’s Dragon’
The first of the smaller mid-size trees was ‘Tarp Dragon’ it grows compact and slowly to only 15 feet. It also has the most beautiful leaf with sharp teeth on every lobe and rearward facing basal lobes. Early spring colors are very nice with reds but doesn’t last long. Fall colors are yellow, occasionally mixed with red. TARP was named during the bank bailout program but actually stands for ‘targeted acer reduction program’ as many customers thought a thirty foot ‘Fire Dragon’® to be too big. I’ve turned the original TARP into a bonsai, and it has exceptional looking bark. Size is 15 x 15 feet.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Dwarf cultivars:
Acer truncatum ‘Eye of the Dragon’
Small leaf dwarf cultivar from ‘Fire Dragon’®seed it has a rounded tumbleweed shape with colorful new growth and fall colors. Leaves slightly smaller than ‘Baby Dragon’® with narrower lobes and with more taper. It grows many long and slender shoots off the trunk and main branches, with very little short side branches. Fall colors go from pink to orange to red. Size is 9 x 12 feet.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.
Acer truncatum ‘Flower God’
A vigorous, upright growing dwarf from ‘Fire Dragon’ seed with very small one inch leaves. New growth is pink to red, fading to a light green, then to dark green. Fall colors are yellow-orange changing to the bright red of ‘Fire Dragon’.
Size is 12 by 7 feet.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples
Acer truncatum ‘Pure Fun’
Dwarf selection from ‘Fire Dragon’ with a typical truncatum branching. Exceptional color and slow growth to 9 x 9 feet.
Occasionally available at Metro Maples.