Platanus × acerifolia – Plant Finder

Tradition

Simply grown in common, medium to moist, well-drained soils in full solar. Tolerates mild shade. Prefers wealthy, humusy, persistently moist soils. Typically tolerant of most city pollution.

Noteworthy Traits

Platanus × acerifolia, generally referred to as London planetree, is a hybrid cross between American sycamore (P. occidentalis) and Oriental planetree (P. orientalis). The unique cross could have occurred as early because the 1640s, after which this tree grew to become extensively planted in London and different main European cities due to its perceived tolerance for city air pollution. Metropolis planting unfold to America the place this hybrid at the moment is frequent in such distant areas as Brooklyn, New York and San Francisco, California. This hybrid might be very tough to tell apart from its American mother or father. Distinguishing options embrace: (1) Leaves have deeper sinuses and (2) fruiting balls seem in pairs. Like its American mother or father, it sometimes grows as a single-trunk tree to 75-100’ (much less continuously to 120’) tall with horizontal branching and a rounded behavior. Trunk diameter sometimes ranges from 3-8’. The signature decorative function of this enormous tree is its brown bark which exfoliates in irregular items to disclose creamy white inside bark. Mature bushes sometimes show mottled white bark that facilitates identification from nice distances. The massive 3-5 lobed medium to darkish inexperienced leaves (4-9” broad) have coarse marginal tooth. In fall, foliage sometimes turns an undistinguished yellow-brown. Small, non-showy, monoecious flowers seem in small rounded clusters in April. Male flowers are yellowish and feminine flowers are reddish. Feminine flowers give approach to fuzzy, long-stalked, spherical fruiting balls (to 1 3/8” diameter) that ripen to brown in October and persist into early winter. Fruiting balls seem in pairs. Every fruiting ball consists of quite a few, densely-packed, tiny seed-like fruits (achenes). Fruiting balls steadily disintegrate as fall progresses, dispursing their seeds, typically in downy tufts, with the wind. Additionally listed as Platanus hybrida and Platanus x hispanica.

Genus identify comes from the Greek phrase, platanos, for the oriental aircraft tree (P. orientalis).

Particular epithet means with leaves like Acer (maple).

Issues

London planetree was initially regarded as far more immune to sycamore anthracnose than its American mother or father, nevertheless that is not totally clear since anthracnose resistance appears to differ significantly amongst varied hybrid vegetation. Some reportedly resistant cultivars, similar to ‘Columbia’ and ‘Liberty’, can be found. One other illness drawback of concern is cankerstain which might be deadly. Canker, leaf spot and powdery mildew can also happen. Insect guests embrace borers, scale, Japanese beetles, caterpillars and mites. When grown as a garden tree, litter from twigs, massive leaves, bark and fruiting balls can pose important clean-up issues.

Backyard Makes use of

A big tree for a big house. Typically thought of too massive and too messy for avenue tree use.