Acer ‘Carnival’

Spring foliage sports pink and white accents, while fall is a blaze of yellow!

This hedge or foundation-sized gem is an ever-changing color display from spring through fall, with a nice upright form that lends itself to pruning into desired shape. If you like your Maple leaves colorful, Carnival is the Netherlands’s answer to the Japanese Maple!

The show begins when the new leaves unroll in spring on reddish stems. Each is nicely lobed and bright green, delicately outlined in pink and then white around the edges. In the summer, the pink greens out but the white remains, so that your tree looks as if an artist had carefully outlined each hand-shaped leaf for maximum beauty! When the fall chill arrives, the leaves promptly turn every shade of yellow. Very popular in Europe as a hedge, this Dutch tree is just becoming available to American gardeners, and I predict it will cause a sensation. The shape and size are just right for today’s smaller gardens.

Carnival is happiest in full sun in the northern portion of its range, partial shade farther south — the high canopy of mature trees or the hour or two of afternoon shade suit it well. And it is t hefinest Maple, bar none, for dry, alkaline soils.

Carnival is a multi-season delight, so be sure to plant it somewhere you can enjoy it every day. At maturity it reaches about 10 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide; expect it to reach about 5 feet after 5 years’ growth. We sell healthy 2-year-old trees just waiting to take off in your garden! Space these trees about 5 feet apart in ordinary, well-drained soil.

Hardy in zones 4-8.