Trident maple

* Common name: Trident maple

Trident maple, Credit: Larry Albee.

*Botanical name: Acer buergerianum

* What it is: A smaller, slow-growing maple that gets reddish-green new leaves in spring and orangish-red fall foliage. Bark peels with age.

* Size: 25 feet tall, 20 feet wide in 20-25 years.

* Where to use: One of the best small shade trees for small areas, such as front yards or for shading patios. Still, allow for 20 to 25 feet across. Full sun to part shade.

* Care: Keep the roots consistently damp the first 2 to 3 seasons, then soak deeply once a week in case of drought. Trident maples are fairly drought-tough and tolerant of poor soils. Remove lowest limbs as the tree grows and any crossing or unwanted branches, ideally in late winter when the tree is still leafless. Fertilizer usually not needed, especially if you’re fertilizing a lawn nearby.

* Great partner: Dwarf nandina is a good compact evergreen underplanting. Consider leadwort as a flowering perennial groundcover in part shade, liriope if it’s mostly sunny underneath the limbs.

— George Weigel