| General Description | Apollo® Maple is a woody, deciduous perennial tree with deep green foliage and varying autumn colour. It is a dwarf tree with a columnar shape. It bears yellow-green flowers in the spring and green schizocarps that mature in the autumn. The bark is grey-brown in colour and smooth in texture. |
| ID Characteristic | The petioles have an opposite arrangemen. The leaves are glabrous and green with an entire shape, palmate lobes, and a truncate or cordate base. The main trunk is grey-brown with the stems ranging from yellow-green to grey-orange depending on maturity. It blooms yellow-green flowers in spring, with green glabrous schizocarps in autumn. A mature Apollo® Maple will only reach half the size of a mature, non-dwarf sugar maple |
| Shape | Apollo® Maple is upright and columnar with a narrow spread. The trunk is sturdy. Most often, a distinct straight and dominant leader is prominent. The branches reach upwards and possess a short internodal length. |
| Landscape | Maples are often used in urban settings, such as parks and golf courses. Apollo® Maple possesses dense foliage, therefore making it an excellent shade tree. They can also be used in residential settings for ornamental value; the compact size of the maple allows for use in patios or small backyards. Additionally, dwarf Apollo® Maple has a smaller root system compared to the Sugar Maple, allowing Apollo® Maple to occupy, and grow healthily in a small area. Finally, dwarf form trees like Apollo® Maples can also be used to form hedges. |
| Propagation | Apollo® Maple is propagated asexually by both budding and grafting onto a sugar maple rootstalk. In the process of budding, several viable Apollo® Maple buds will be attached to a sugar maple rootstalk using either the T bud method or chip bud method. Both methods involve the careful insertion of a modified bud into an opening in the scion and subsequent wrapping of the area to ensure new shoot growth. The process of grafting consists of joining a scion and rootstalk. In this process, a scion and rootstalk are both cut on a slant with grafting shears, placed together, and then wrapped. This method encourages the joining of cambium. Both budding and grafting are accomplished with rudimentary tools, and highly successful at producing new maple trees. |
| Cultivation | Apollo® Maple requires full sun for best performance but can tolerate partial shade. It prefers moist but well-drained soils; constant saturation can cause damage to roots. The typical soil pH range is 3.7 - 7.4 but the ideal range is 5.5 - 7.3. Apollo® Maple is intolerant of pollution and salt spray. Despite the compact nature of the tree, maples do not tolerate crowding and need ample space to grow. It is suggested that Apollo® Maple be transplanted using the burlap sack method. Natural shape is desired – only prune to remove deadwood or disease. |
| Pests | Apollo® Maple is susceptible to several biotic disorders and pests including the cankerworm, linden looper, tent caterpillar, and gypsy moth. Deer, hare, moose, red, grey, and flying squirrels are known to consume maples for sustenance. Occasionally, porcupine is known to feed on the bark of sugar maples which can cause girdling. Sugar maples can also suffer from cankers, root rot, and wilt. The most common issue for maples is leaf scorch, verticillium wilt, and “Maple Decline”. Apollo® Maple has a notable resistance to Japanese Beetles. |
| Notable Specimens | Several young but notable specimens are located in The Gardens of Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, Canada. |
| Habitat | Horticultural origin. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark of an Apollo® Maple is grey-brown in colour. It has a smooth texture with minimal vertical fissuring. The bark is slightly scaley. The stems range from yellow-green to greyed-orange in colour depending on maturity. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The buds are conical in shape, and sharply acute with striate scales. The terminal buds are 4 - 6 mm long and 2 - 3 mm wide. The lateral buds are 3 - 4 mm long and 3 mm wide. Dormant buds range in colour from brown to purple-grey. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are entire and cut into three to five palmate lobes. The bases range from truncate to cordate and the tips range from acute to acuminate. The upper and lower portion of the leaf is glabrous and green. The leaves change in colour from green to yellow-orange, orange-red and red in the autumn. They range in size from 10 - 18 cm wide and 10 - 18 cm long. |
| Flower Description | The flowers are bell-shaped and apetalous. They are yellow-green and each measures 5 mm. They are arranged in fringe-like clusters of 8 to 14 flowers. The tree blooms in April before leaf emergence. The structure of the flower suggests that sugar maple is pollinated by wind. |
| Fruit Description | The fruit is a schizocarp that measures 2.5 - 3.5 cm long and 8 - 10 mm wide. The schizocarps are green and glabrous. The schizocarp is ready for planting when the wings change to a yellow-brown colour in autumn. The seed portion is glabrous and round in comparison to a schizocarp from a Norway Maple |
| Colour Description | In the summer season, Apollo® Maple has deep green palmate leaves that help reflect summer heat and resist damage from scorching. These leaves change to a vibrant mixture of yellows, oranges, and reds throughout the autumn season. The bark of the tree is grey-brown with a smooth texture. During the spring season, the tree blooms with stringy yellow-green flowers and green schizocarps that change colour throughout their duration on the tree; neither provides significant ornamental value. |
| Texture Description | Apollo® Maple is a medium textured plant with smooth palmate leaves. The tree loses these leaves in the autumn season and is left with smooth and plain bark as the predominant texture. |