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Platanus Monumental™

Broadly pyramidal a & densley branched.

Monumental™ has a strong central leader and uniform, densely branched, broad, pyramidal shape. The dense branching results in consistent foliage cover throughout the canopy. Foliage: Medium green, deeply palmate-lobed foliage for the entire growing season with a yellow fall color display. Bark: Attractive, light gray, exfoliating bark that transitions to bright white, providing striking winter interest in the landscape. Fruit: Some fruiting as a young and mature tree. Monumental™ works well as a landscape shade tree for home, commercial, and municipal park landscapes, or could be used as a residential street tree. London planetrees are known world wide for excellent tolerance to the challenges of the developed landscape including air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or drought. Monumental™ has superior adaptability, hardiness, disease resistance, and uniform habit that make it suitable for use in the landscape. When tested against P. ‘Bloodgood’ in field trials, it proved to be a superior performer in developing consistent caliper and having a strong, straight stem. For those who prefer the broad spreading habit of the Chicagoland Grows® introduction Ovation™, Monumental™ is an excellent replacement. The branch angles of Monumental™ are much more uniform with straighter branches than the Bloodgood branch angles. The stem of Monumental™ grows much straighter and stronger than Bloodgood. Where Bloodgood has a slight bend at each node, Monumental™ grows straight.

Who Am I?

  • Common Name:
    Monumental London planetree
  • Botanical Name:
    Platanus xacerifolia 'Morton Naper'
  • Type:
    Tree

Cultural Details

TYPE

Tree
  • Light:
    Ful sun
  • Soil:
    Tolerant of poor soils, but adaptable to many
  • Moisture:
    Tolerance to drought and extended flooding
  • Hardiness Zone
    4-8
  • Size:
    50-70' tall by 30-50' wide
  • Diseases & Pests:
    Bred and selected for resistance to sycamore anthracnose.

What Makes Me Special?

Selected for its broadly pyramidal, densely branched canopy, distinctive bright white winter bark, and sycamore anthracnose tolerance.

Landscape Use

Specimen, large parks, extensive lawn areas, parkways, golf courses, parking lots, street tree

Origin

Monumental™ is a selection that resulted from a controlled cross conducted by Dr. George Ware at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. Dr. Ware received pollen from the U.S. National Arboretum and crossed it onto a native P. occidentalis growing at The Morton Arboretum. The original plant of Monumental™ has been observed in the landscape since 1994.

Propagation

Softwood Cuttings

Who Am I?

  • Common Name:
    Monumental London planetree
  • Botanical Name:
    Platanus xacerifolia 'Morton Naper'
  • Type:
    Tree

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