PLANT OF THE MONTH
October, 2007
Plant of the Month Feature
by Jeff Iles
Arboretum Board Member
Professor and Chair
Department of Horticulture
Iowa State University
Acer saccharum
'Green Mountain'
'Green Mountain' Sugar Maple
Have you ever wondered where all of our shade tree cultivars come from? Did they result from decades of secret breeding work conducted in some out-of-the-way nursery field? Did one tree among thousands cause a keen-eyed nursery worker to stop, note, and eventually propagate and sell that tree because of some special or unusual trait? Or what about that certain tree you notice each night as you drive home from work? You know the one with the perfectly tailored growth habit and stunning fall color? Perhaps it should be propagated and introduced to the gardening public?
Well, if you found any of these explanations plausible, then you're well on your way to understanding the plant introduction game, and one of the best at playing the game was the late William (Bill) Flemer (1922-2007). Haven't heard of Bill Flemer? Okay, but surely you've heard of his plant introductions. In fact, the list of plants Bill introduced to the nursery trade reads like a who's who of famous and influential plants. Surely you've heard of 'October Glory' red maple? How about littleleaf linden 'PNI 6025', better known by its trademark Greenspire®, or ginkgo 'PNI 2720' (Princeton Sentry®)? But my all time favorite Flemer introduction would have to be Acer saccharum 'Green Mountain'.
Introduced way back in 1964, 'Green Mountain' remains one, if not the most popular sugar maple selection available in the nursery trade today. This truly is an amazing accomplishment particularly when you compare 'Green Mountain' sugar maple to two other wildly popular cultural artifacts from that same year; the movie "Mary Poppins" or the Beatles hit single "I Want to Hold Your Hand." To be sure, both are still around, but neither passes the relevance test like 'Green Mountain'.
But why is the tree so popular and how has it remained at the top of the heap? Well, for starters you can't discount the name. It is one of the great shade tree cultivar monikers of all time, chosen perhaps to conjure up images of the mountains of Vermont (the Green Mountain state) and the accompanying riot of fall color sugar maples bring to that breathtaking landscape each October.
But a name will only take you so far (see Pop-Tarts, Lucky Charms cereal, and the horn-shaped snack Bugles, all also introduced in 1964). And as we now know, 'Green Mountain' had more going for it than just a catchy name. It grew tall and wide, handled winters just fine thank you, and most importantly, produced stunning fall leaf color. Of course, fall leaf color can be unpredictable and variable in its expression, but 'Green Mountain' became known for "coloring up" regardless of site conditions.
If 'Green Mountain' has a flaw it comes in the leaf tatter department. What's leaf tatter you ask? The late Dr. John Pair (Kansas State University) coined the term to describe the fraying and deterioration of leaves, primarily in response to wind. Unfortunately, unusually large leaves (more surface area to catch the wind) and exceptionally long petioles allows the foliage of 'Green Mountain' to get whipped around pretty good, causing it in some years to look a little bedraggled by seasons end. Now, you can help the situation by not planting 'Green Mountain' (or any sugar maple for that matter) on environmentally hostile sites such as those found along downtown Main Street, at the windswept soccer complex, or in the exposed entryway planting at the outskirts of town. And if you can remember sugar maples like their space, enjoy cool, moist soils, and don't mind a little shade in the afternoon, your investment in any sugar maple cultivar will be repaid many times over.
About the author: Dr. Jeffery Iles presently serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He holds advanced degrees from Penn State University and Iowa State University. Among many awards and honors, Dr. Iles is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association. He has authored or co-authored more than twenty journal articles in such journals as HortTechnology, Journal of Environmental Horticulture, Journal of Arboriculture, and HortScience. Research projects Dr. Iles is currently involved in include Landscape Plant Evaluation, Invasive Landscape Plants, and Landscape Plant Usage. The Bickelhaupt Arboretum is fortunate to have Dr. Iles on its Board of Directors.