Intro
Acer platanoides ‘Columnare’ is a columnar Norway maple that addresses the growing demand for slender avenue trees in streets, residential areas and business parks. For tree nurseries, it is a typical project-oriented product with clear added value in urban environments.

Crop advantages
‘Columnare’ has an upright, narrow crown. Branching is evenly distributed along the trunk, creating a well-formed column over time. In the nursery, the variety can be trained and raised easily, with predictable trunk development and crown formation.
Like the standard Norway maple, ‘Columnare’ is robust and relatively tolerant to common pests and diseases in our climate. This makes production technically manageable and suitable for longer crop cycles from bare-root to full avenue sizes. The combination of vigour and shape stability leads to good success rates in project sizes.

Application
‘Columnare’ is designed for locations where crown width must be limited: narrow streets, parking strips, smaller front gardens and green verges along infrastructure. The tree still provides enough foliage and shade, while keeping passageways for traffic and pedestrians open.
For municipalities, developers and landscape contractors, this columnar form is attractive because it delivers structure and vertical green in limited space. In smaller private gardens that still require height and shade, ‘Columnare’ can also be a convincing solution.

Consumer value
Although ‘Columnare’ is mainly a project and avenue tree, there is growing private demand for slim-crowned trees in smaller gardens. The familiar maple leaves, spring flush and autumn colours provide clear seasonal interest.
For the end user, the main benefit is having a “real tree” without an excessively wide crown that dominates the entire garden. This fits well with the trend towards compact yet fully fledged trees in residential areas.

Export potential
Columnar avenue trees are seeing increasing demand across Europe, especially in urbanised regions where space is limited. ‘Columnare’ can be attractive for markets such as Germany, Belgium and beyond, where similar urban challenges exist.
As a project tree, it is often supplied in larger sizes (e.g. 14–16, 16–18 and upwards), with a clear stem and a well-developed crown. This requires a longer production period but also offers a higher unit price and more added value per tree.

Why choose Acer platanoides ‘Columnare’?
Acer platanoides ‘Columnare’ enables tree nurseries to respond to the demand for slim, avenue-type trees suited to the city of the future. Its technical robustness, predictable production and clear role in public green make it an attractive project tree. For trade and specifiers, ‘Columnare’ offers a concrete answer to lack of space, without sacrificing green presence and seasonal dynamics.