Acer grosseri var hersii

This hardy deciduous tree is grown mainly for the stunning green and white striated bark but its foliage and form are really nice, too. It can reach 4m in height and will do so quite rapidly to achieve a mature tree with a broad head of layered branches. Yellow flowers, winged seed clusters and good autumn colours all add to this Acers’ desirability.

Read the word ‘striation’ and picture the markings of a baby Tapir. There you go, close enough. The bark of this tree is tremendously beautiful and glossy, being as they are a background of tawny browny-green with white rippling stripes that are very striking and unusual and showing especially well in the shade.

While not grown exclusively for this feature, it is one which does set it apart and along with a smart silhouette of open, horizontally-arching branches you’ve got a splendid specimen or feature tree. They also make for good screening, too, and it’s another nice example of something with both utility and prettiness. Throw on a coating of handsome three-lobed leaves which turn a vivid orangey-red in the autumn as many Acers will, and you have a specimen with year-round interest that’s so very versatile. Eminently suitable for a Japanese-inspired garden design, a semi-wild woodland landscape or one of those neatly laid-out urban spaces where the softening effect of a graceful tree or two is essential.

Position this tree in a sheltered spot which is out of strong sun and cold winds if possible. Will grow in any well drained but moist soil.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.