Summer gold

Character & interest

‘Summer Gold’ brings real light to a garden scene: it is a cultivar designed to offer clear foliage without being fragile as soon as it gets a bit of sun. Its compact, well-branched habit makes it easy to use as a focal point (terrace, entrance, small bed), including in modest-sized gardens.

Colours

• Spring : leaves may open rosy, then yellow to bright yellow; young shoots sometimes orange.

• Summer : yellow to yellow-green / lime, often with a fine red edging.

• Autumn : golden yellow with orange and red nuances.

Habit & vigour

Upright habit becoming rounded with age, generally compact and well branched. Slow to moderate growth.

Indicative size

Observed orders of magnitude depending on sources and training:

• around 2 m × 2 m (some references give this as an “ultimate” size),

• often 2 to 2.5 m at 10 years according to catalogues,

• some sellers indicate up to ~3 m (or more depending on climate, age and training).

Exposure

Gentle sun / bright partial shade. This cultivar is often described as more sun-tolerant than other yellow maples, provided extreme situations are avoided (dry soil, hot wind, scorching full sun).

Origin & history

‘Summer Gold’ is a selection introduced by the Fratelli Gilardelli nursery (Italy, Milan area), known for several luminous-foliage Japanese maples. In many catalogues, ‘Summer Gold’ is often compared with ‘Orange Dream’ (same nursery), with the idea of a yellow foliage that lasts longer through the season and is often better tolerant of gentle sun than some other classic “yellow” cultivars.