The Crimson King Norway Maple, otherwise known as the Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ is a pretty well known tree plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its red colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Crimson King Norway Maple is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Crimson King Norway Maple Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
In order to take proper care of your Crimson King Norway Maple you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Crimson King Norway Maple wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
- Light: Keep your Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Crimson King Norway Maple in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Crimson King Norway Maple will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Crimson King Norway Maple belongs to the Sapindaceae family, the genus Acer and the species Platanoides, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ (AY-ser plat-an-OY-deez).
The Sapindaceae family also includes other plants like Redpointe® Red Maple, Osakazuki Japanese Maple, Dwarf Horse Chestnut, Acer Japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’, Paperbark Maple, Acer palmatum ‘Seiryû’, Japanese Maple, Full Moon Maple ‘Aureum’ and Aesculus X Carnea ‘Fort Mcnair’.
As with other Acer’s, the Crimson King Norway Maple is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Crimson King Norway Maple is a plant native to the Northeastern Europe.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Crimson King Norway Maple is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 7 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7b, 7a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Crimson King Norway Maple is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Crimson King Norway Maple actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ can grow up to 30′ – 40′ (9m – 12m) in 30′ – 40′ (9m – 12m) and 20′ – 40′ (6m – 12m) in 20′ – 40′ (6m – 12m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Crimson King Norway Maple is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Crimson King Norway Maple in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Crimson King Norway Maple then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Crimson King Norway Maple needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Crimson King Norway Maple prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Crimson King Norway Maple requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and shallow rocky, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Crimson King Norway Maple requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Crimson King Norway Maple will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Crimson King Norway Maple to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
The Crimson King Norway Maple produces some beautiful yellow, or green, gold/yellow and insignificant flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Crimson King Norway Maple have a beautiful red color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Crimson King Norway Maple is well known for its tolerance to drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Crimson King Norway Maple have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Acer Platanoides ‘Crimson King’ owners agree that this tree will look great in most contemporary and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Crimson King Norway Maple’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a very wet areas, firescaping/fire wise, specimen, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Crimson King Norway Maple’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Picea, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Pinus will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Crimson King Norway Maple to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
