Acer x freemanii ‘Celzam’ – Celebration® Maple

Botanical Name: Acer x freemanii ‘Celzam’

Alternate Name: Celebration® Freeman Maple

The Celebration® Maple (Acer freemanii ‘Celzam’) is a moderately fast-growing deciduous maple. It grows to a height of 40-50 feet and a width of 20-35 feet. This tree is narrower than other Acer Freemanii cultivars. It has a sturdy structure and a central leader with strong, upright growing branches, which are resistant to damage by high winds or the weight of snow and ice.

This Freeman cultivar is a hybrid developed from the Red Maple (Acer rubrum) crossed with the Silver Maple (Acer saccharum). The Celebration® Maple has qualities from both trees – the good structure, elegant form, and brilliant fall color of the Red Maple and adaptability and faster growth rate of the Silver Maple.

The leaves of the Celebration® Maple are mid-green, with 3-5 deeply divided lobes. This hybrid provides a showy display of small clusters of red flowers in spring, before the leaves emerge. The blooms then develop into samaras that are often seedless and are not significant to its ornamental display. The leaves provide a brilliant spectacle in the fall, with a vibrant range of yellows, oranges, and reds.

The Celebration® Maple is adaptable to different soil types but does like rich, moist, well-drained soil. This makes the tree suitable for many sites such as parks, gardens, and streets.