Tombly’s red sentinel

Character & interest

This is a “silhouette” maple: it forms a narrow, dense, sentinel-like shape, with very little lateral spread when young. It adds height and colour without taking up much width. With age, the plant may broaden slightly, while keeping its slender character.

Colours

• Spring : young leaves bright red.

• Summer : purplish red to dark red (sometimes a little more red-green depending on conditions).

• Autumn : red (often very luminous).

Habit & vigour

Strongly fastigiate/columnar habit, dense growth. Vigour is described as moderate to good: it can remain compact, but in the ground and in good conditions, it gains height faster than you might expect.

Indicative size

Order of magnitude: 2.5 to 4 m ultimately, with width generally kept under control (often around 1–2 m depending on training and conditions). Some growers report that in the ground it can grow faster and exceed the “dwarf” sizes often announced.

Exposure

Gentle sun / bright partial shade. Light enhances the colour, but protection from scorching sun and dry winds improves foliage quality, especially in a container.

Origin & history

‘Twombly’s Red Sentinel’ is attributed to Ken Twombly (Connecticut, USA). It is generally described as a witch’s broom mutation observed on a red maple of the ‘Bloodgood’ type, then propagated and distributed.