EXCLAMATION! London Planetree
Platanus x acerifolia 'Morton Circle'
EXCLAMATION! London Planetree
Platanus x acerifolia 'Morton Circle'
How are the heights measured?
All tree, and nothin' but the tree! We measure from the top of the soil to the top of the tree; the height of the container or the root system is never included in our measurements.
What is a gallon container?
Nursery containers come in a variety of different sizes, and old-school nursery slang has stuck. While the industry-standard terminology is to call the sizes "Gallon Containers", that doesn't exactly translate to the traditional liquid "gallon" size we think of. You'll find we carry young 1-gallons, up to more mature 7-gallons ranging anywhere from 6 inches to 6ft.
How does the delivery process work?
All of our orders ship via FedEx Ground! Once your order is placed online, our magic elves get right to work picking, staging, boxing and shipping your trees. Orders typically ship out within 2 business days. You will receive email notifications along the way on the progress of your order, as well as tracking information to track your plants all the way to their new home!
Why are some states excluded from shipping?
The short & sweet answer is: "United States Department of Agriculture Restrictions." Every state has their own unique USDA restrictions on which plants they allow to come into their state. While we wish we could serve everyone, it's for the safety of native species and helps prevent the spread of invasive disease & pests. We've gotta protect good ole' Mother Nature, after all.
About Me
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The Exclamation!™ London Planetree is the perfect specimen tree for difficult locations. It grows into a large specimen tree, up to 60 feet tall, with a broad spread. With its bold green leaves and unique patterned bark, it is beautiful in all the seasons. Its ability to thrive in harsh conditions is legendary, and if you have an urban garden, this tree has to be the top pick. It is so beautiful that it also deserves to be planted anywhere, but especially if you have difficult soil, perhaps regularly flooded, or often dry, then plant this tree for a trouble-free life. This particular form has also been bred and selected to resist the serious diseases of the Planetree, and as well it is more resistant to cold damage, making it ideal in zones where the tree could not previously be grown well.
- Beautiful and tough specimen tree
- Very large maple-like leaves
- Fascinating ‘camouflage effect’ bark
- The toughest tree for city planting
- Especially bred for disease and cold resistance
The Exclamation!™ London Planetree grows best in full sun, and it will grow in all soils, from acid to alkaline and from wet to dry. Once established it is drought-resistant, and it thrives where no other tree will. It is fully resistant to anthracnose disease, and relatively resistant to powdery mildew, both diseases that plague other Planetrees. For toughness combined with beauty this tree is a top choice all over the world, so look no further for the specimen tree for tough spots – here it is.
- Plant Hardiness Zones 4-8
- Mature Width 45
- Mature Height 50-60
- Sun Needs Full Sun
In tough urban conditions it is hard to find attractive shade trees. The soil is often poor, the air polluted, and diseases are rampant. The Exclamation!™ London Planetree was created to satisfy this need – and it does. This deciduous specimen tree is beautiful and tough. It has been bred to be resistant to disease and to withstand the frost cracking that limits the northern distribution of this tree. Like all London Planetrees it will grow where no other tree will, in soils that are wet or dry, and in cities with high levels of air pollution. Amazingly, not only is it tough, it is beautiful – outstandingly beautiful, and ideal for a large specimen tree everywhere, even in a rural garden, or simply anywhere at all.
Growing EXCLAMATION!™ London Planetrees
The Exclamation London Planetree grows rapidly; it will add 3 feet a year to its height when young, gradually slowing to 12 to 18 inches a year when mature. It will soon become an outstanding specimen and in just a few decades it will be a large tree 60 feet tall and 45 feet across. Make sure the place you plant it in is big enough to accommodate a large tree. Younger trees will have branches right to the ground, and they will look beautiful on a lawn. This tree can also be pruned up, by gradually removing the lower branches, into a specimen with a clear trunk to any height you choose.
The leaves are large, up to 12 inches long and across, with three large lobes, looking a little like a maple tree. In fall the leaves may turn yellow, and then brown, before falling. The bark is the most outstanding feature of this tree, and it makes it as interesting in winter as it is in summer. From an early age the tree shows bark that is mottled in shades of brown, green and tan. The bark regularly peels off in large pieces, and then we see the bright cream and white young bark beneath. Don’t worry when this begins to happen – your tree is growing normally.
Planting and Initial Care
Plant the Exclamation London Planetree is full sun, although it can be planted in shade if it will soon grow up into the sunlight. It will grow in any soil, from acid to alkaline, and unlike almost any other tree available, this tree grows in wet soil, ordinary soil, and dry, droughty soil too. Once established it is very drought resistant. It also tolerates highway fumes and other forms of urban pollution, so for a city garden it is ideal.
Pests and Diseases
Diseases can be problems with ordinary forms of this tree, and this is where its special breeding comes into play. Anthracnose, causing summer browning of leaves, and twigs to die back, is a serious disease, but the Exclamation London Planetree is resistant to it. It is also partially resistant to the less-serious but unsightly powdery mildew that can attack these trees in hot summers. As well, often they split and crack in the hard frost of cold areas, but this tree will not, so it can be grown a whole zone colder than other forms – throughout zone 4. All these features make it an outstanding choice for colder areas, and a top-pick for city planting.
History and Origins of the EXCLAMATION!™ London Planetree
The Exclamation London Planetree is a carefully selected form of the London Plane Tree, a tree with a long history. Perhaps as far back as 1670, in a botanical garden in England, a chance cross-pollination happened between the Oriental Plane Tree, Platanus orientalis and the American Sycamore, or Buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis). The Oriental Plane grows throughout Europe and east to Iran, while the American Sycamore grows all across eastern and central America.
The result of this chance event was a hybrid tree combining the best features of the two trees, and which also produced seed that could be used to produce further plants. This probably happened several times, so that there is now a group of hybrid trees with tiny variations between them, all called Platanus x acerifolia. Among them is the London Planetree, a tree growing all over that city and familiar to visitors. In Europe, where they are seen everywhere, grown for their toughness in harsh urban conditions.
The search for improved forms of popular garden plants that will grow well, and be more successful under difficult conditions, goes on all the time. Chicagoland Grows® is an innovative partnership between the Chicago Botanic Garden, The Morton Arboretum, and the Ornamental Grower’s Association of Northern Illinois (OGA). The OGA brings together several wholesale nurseries growing plants in northeastern Illinois. The goal of this group is to promote new varieties of trees and plants ideal for growing in the Upper Midwest – but of course they grow just as well in other similar zones, and they have been promoted all around the world.
The London plane tree variety called ‘Morton Circle’ was developed at the Morton Arboretum, by Dr. George Ware. He repeated the original natural origin of the London plane tree by crossing a plant of Old-World Sycamore growing at the US National Arboretum with a disease-resistant plant of American Sycamore that grew at the Morton Arboretum. He grew many seedlings, and in 1994 selected the very best ones. The one he called ‘Morton Circle’ had outstanding resistance to anthracnose disease, and to frost-cracking in cold conditions. It was registered as Exclamation! and released by Chicagoland Grows to nurseries across the country.
This tree must be grown from stem pieces, not from seed, and this is how our trees are grown, so that you get exactly the result of all the careful breeding work. Top-quality shade trees for difficult locations are always in high demand, and we know these great trees will soon be gone to happy homes. Order now while we still have stock available – don’t hesitate.