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Acer pseudoplatanus 'Brilliantissimum'

May (a)

Why did the sycamore blush? (Answers on a postcard, please).

This tree gets a very mixed press (from this writer, too) because the sequel to this fortnight of blushing display is an anaemic-looking off-green for the rest of the summer. There is no denying, though, that among the various tints of spring this shrimp-like performance is a charmer.

Lack of chlorophyll makes this a slow grower. The tree before you is over 30 years old and only 16 feet high. That on the left is an Acer palmatum of the same age growing at the foot of a bank. On the right is the excellent gold-leafed cultivar of the red-barked dogwood, Cornus alba 'Spaethii'.

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