Acer platanoides Princeton Gold 12L pot

Acer platanoides Princeton Gold (Norway Maple 'Princeton Gold')

For a real focal point in a larger garden, Acer platanoides Princeton Gold delivers striking golden foliage that holds its colour beautifully throughout the season. The deeply-lobed, five-lobed leaves unfold a pale, luminous gold on distinctive red leaf stalks in spring, deepening to a rich golden-yellow as summer progresses — a real standout, especially when new growth is at its most vibrant. Inconspicuous yellow flowers appear in spring, followed by the familiar winged 'helicopter' seeds come autumn.

This is a fast-growing, tough and thoroughly reliable tree, holding an RHS Award of Garden Merit and showing good resistance to leaf scorch, so it colours well whether planted in full sun or partial shade. It tolerates a wide range of soils, including chalk, clay, loam, and sand, and copes well with exposure, drought, and pollution once established. Given its ultimate size — higher than 12 metres with a spread wider than 8 metres over 20–50 years — it's best suited to larger gardens or as a substantial specimen tree. Pruning needs are minimal: simply remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches in late autumn or winter, avoiding cuts at other times of year as acers can bleed sap if pruned while actively growing.

Each plant is hand-selected before dispatch.