|
Height: |
60' to 80' (45' at age 30) |
| Width: |
40' to 70' (40' at age 30) |
|
Hardiness Zone: |
3 to 7 |
| Crown: |
Ovate, regular ascending branches, medium texture |
|
Foliage: |
3" to 5", sugar maple is brilliant
yellow, orange, or red in fall; black maple is more subdued |
|
Flowers: |
Yellow-green, emerge before leaves |
| Fruit: |
1" samara |
|
Description: |
Sugar maple is native to moist, cool sites in central
and eastern U.S. and Canada. On spacious sites it is a most
attractive shade tree. Foliage is dense and develops
spectacular autumn colors. Smooth gray bark becomes furrowed
with age, ultimately with long, scaly plates. Growth rate is
slow to medium. Black maple is closely related and very
similar to sugar maple in most traits, but is a separate species. |
|
Advantages: |
Pleasing growth habit and colors make for an
ideal tree in parks or broad tree lawns. Shade tolerance
permits it to be interplanted among older trees. |
|
Limitations: |
Sensitivity to road salt, heat, compaction, and
drought is in part responsible for widespread maple decline.
Verticillium wilt or leaf scorch can be serious sometimes.
Acer nigrum from midwestern origins is more heat and drought
tolerant. |
| Site
and Culture: |
Needs well drained soils with loose structure and
adequate moisture. Avoid compacted or droughty soils, tree
lawns less than 6' wide, and streets with heavy traffic.
Susceptible to sunscald and bark cracks following heavy pruning.
Good suburban tree, but not tolerant of urban stresses. |
|
Cultivars: |
Trees grown from seed
obtained from similar or colder, drier climatic zones are best.
Cultivars are useful mainly for controlling crown shape and color,
and some are believed to be more tolerant of urban conditions. |
|
Notes: |
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| Tree
Location:
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