Commonly referred to as a Snake Bark maple, Acer davidii 'George Forrest' has wonderful striated, snakeskin-like bark. The young bark varies from purple/red to green with creamy white stripes. In maturity the bark turns green/brown with white stripes. The leaves are large and dark-green on coral red stems in summer and in autumn turn fiery orange.
Planted in any soil with good drainage and out of cold winds, 'George Forrest' will grow to 5 x 4 metres in 20 years and will form a slightly spreading tree with arching branches and a loose attractive canopy.
AKA Snake Bark Maple, Snakebark Maple, Père David's maple 'George Forrest'
Our pot grown George Forrest Snake Bark Maple trees can be planted at any time of the year. Prepare your planting site by removing weeds and grass within a metre of your desired planting hole. Dig a square hole as deep as the root mass and roughly 2x as wide. To help the tree establish more effectively, sprinkle root grow in the hole.
Remove the pot, gently loosen the roots and place into the planting hole. Mix 50% of the original soil with 50% compost, fill in the hole and firm around gently. Avoid banking the soil up around the collar of the tree.
We recommend planting Maple 'George Forrest' trees (except multi stems) with a staking kit. For single stakes, knock the stake in at an angle and use a buckle tie with a spacer to prevent chaffing. For more advice, visit the help section.
If you’re planting Maple 'George Forrest' trees in spring or summer, water well for the first few months. Increase watering if there are extended periods of hot or dry weather. If planting in autumn, you may only need to water a little.
Once planted, keep the area free of competing weeds and grass for the first couple of growing seasons and if your area is prone to rabbits, use a rabbit guard. Our complete planting kits contain an irrigation system, weed suppressing mulch mat and rabbit guard, as well as the rootgrow and staking kits mentioned above.
Snake Bark Maple 'George Forrest' trees are easy to look after and do not require a lot of pruning. Remove any damaged or diseased branches when the tree is in leaf or just after leaf fall. This will prevent bleeding, which although it is not detrimental, can look unsightly. When pruning, make sure to maintain an even framework, step back and assess your work and prune proportionately.
Covid-19: In response to government advice and for the safety of everyone, we have taken the difficult decision to stop nursery operations until mid-April.
It will still be possible to place new orders through our website and your trees will be tagged and reserved for you, but we will be unable to despatch them until operations resume.
1 small tree (most trees under 1.5 metres in height) : £7.95 + vat
1 medium tree (most trees 1.5-2 metres in height) or 2-4 small trees: £9.95 + vat
2+ medium trees or 5+ small trees: £12.95 + vat
1-4 trees delivered by pallet (inc. mature Japanese Maples): £19.95 + vat
The above prices exclude the Scottish Highlands, where delivery starts from £24.95 + vat and is calculated in the checkout process.
Mature and pleached trees or orders too large for pallet: Cost is calculated in the checkout process and varies by postcode rather than quantity (starts from £48 + vat).
Our courier charges are not viable for just one or two trees, but if you have a larger requirement then please do speak to us to see if we can find a solution.
All trees are carefully packed by our experienced team and most are delivered within 10 days of placing the order. There's no need to be in to receive your order and you can request where it is left via the checkout.
There is a slightly longer timescale on pleached and mature trees (trees over 2.5m in height) because we group orders together for specialist delivery - we will contact these customers to notify them of the delivery date.
Trees on pre-order are still growing and an estimate of when they will be ready is given on the basket page. Orders will be despatched when all trees are ready.
Gift trees and those required by a specific date can be accommodated with pleasure, although we accept no legal responsibility for late deliveries.
Our nursery is a busy despatch centre, so please make an appointment to collect or view trees. For collections, despatch charges will be refunded.
The product table at the bottom of the page gives the forms and sizes available for this variety. Please note, photos are a guideline as all plants are unique. Below are definitions of terms:
Supplied Size: Height measured from the top of the pot.
Single Stem / Pruned and shaped: Classic shaped tree with a single stem that has had pruning to help create a beautiful, natural shape.
Top grafted: A height noted next to this form refers to the length of clear stem, which will not grow taller. Only the head of branches will develop. Top grafted trees do not require complicated pruning and are ideal for small spaces.
Feathered: A feathered tree has branches from the bottom of the trunk all the way up. These branches can be removed if a clear stem is required.
Multi Stem: A multi stem tree has two or more stems arising from or near ground level, growing from one root system.
Bush: A plant with many stems low down, rather than one clear stem.
Clump: Several plants in one pot that can give the appearance of a multi stemmed and very bushy tree.
Climber: A plant that is a natural climber and will be delivered usually running up a bamboo cane, ready to position in the garden.
Standard Tree: A more mature tree with an upright clear stem of approximately 1.8m-2.0m (measured from the soil to the lowest branches of the crown). Standards are available in different forms relating to their girth size (circumference of the stem measured 1m above soil level), not height:
Standard either 6-10cm or 8-10cm girth, approximately 2.5-3.0m in height
Premium Standard 10-12cm girth, approximately 3.0-3.5m in height
Heavy Standard 12-14cm girth, approximately 3.5-4.5m in height
Extra Heavy Standard 14-16cm girth approximately 4.0-6m in height
| Plant Specification | Form | Supplied Size | Root type | Price | Quantity Qty | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bush | 100-130cm | 12L pot | £53.99£44.99 (ex VAT) (VAT Free) (ex VAT) (inc VAT) (VAT Free) (inc VAT) | 1
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| Multi-stem | 120-150cm | 12L pot | £59.99£49.99 (ex VAT) (VAT Free) (ex VAT) (inc VAT) (VAT Free) (inc VAT) | 1
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| Single Stem Tree | 150-200cm | 10L pot | £71.99£59.99 (ex VAT) (VAT Free) (ex VAT) (inc VAT) (VAT Free) (inc VAT) | 1
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| Standard Tree, 8-10cm girth | approx 2.5-3.0m | 28L pot | £191.99£159.99 (ex VAT) (VAT Free) (ex VAT) (inc VAT) (VAT Free) (inc VAT) | 1
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