Planting a paperbark maple is one thing you must do to be considered a Serious Gardener.  (The other two are gardening after dark by the light of your car headlights, and asking for manure for your birthday.)

But novice gardeners can get in on the fun, too, because the choice paperbark maple (Acer griseum) is surprisingly easy to grow.  It wants full sun but can handle light shade, and it’s not fussy about soils.

In fact, here in Portland I see it used everywhere as a street tree, forced to tough it out in many a parched hellstrip—and performing like a champ.  True, our plants are spoiled with a milder climate than most, but it should be noted that in summer, it’s dry.  We hardly get enough rain to wash all the Meconopsis betonicifolia pollen off the sidewalks—let alone do any real irrigating.