Common Maple trees in our area:

 

 

Silver Maple:

 

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• Broadleaf deciduous tree, 80-100 ft (24-30 m), decurrent, ascending branches, rounded form.  Bark smooth, gray when young, becoming shaggy with age.  Leaves opposite, simple, 8-15 cm across and 15-17 cm long, deeply lobed (5-7 lobes), coarse, sharp, irregular teeth, bright green above and silvery white below and pubescent when young; petiole 8-12 cm long; fall color yellow, brown and rarely red.  Flowers short stalked, red to greenish, without petals; appear in late winter and long before the leaves.  Fruit (samara), wings 2.5-5 cm long and about a right angle between them, mature in late spring.

 

• Sun, rapid growing, but "falls apart" when older.  Not a long-lived tree.  Easy to grow, but will lift sidewalks and clog drain pipes.  One of the best trees for poor soil, but is suffers severely from leaf chlorosis (iron deficiency) on alkaline soils with a pH greater than 7.5.  In its native habitat found along streams; it can survive weeks of inundation.

 

• Hardy to USDA Zone 3      Native range from Quebec east to Minnesota, south to Oklahoma, Louisiana and Florida.

 

 

 

 

  Norway Maple:

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• Broadleaf deciduous tree, 35-50(75) ft [11-15(23) m] high, dense foliage, broad crown, stout stems.  Leaves opposite, simple, 10-18 cm across, 5-lobed, lobes pointed, glossy dark green above, also glossy below often with hairs in axils of veins, milky sap observed when petiole removed.  Foliage sometimes develops an excellent yellow in fall.  Showy clusters of yellow or greenish-yellow flowers in early spring, before leaves open, each flower about 8 mm diam.  Large fruit, glabrous, wings wide spreading.

 

• Sun.  Easy to transplant.  Adapted to extremes in soils (sand, clay, acid, calcareous).  Withstands hot dry conditions better than sugar maple.  Tolerates pollution.  Shallow root system may compete with turf and lift sidewalks.  Over used in some areas.

 

• Hardy to USDA Zone 4        Native to continental Europe.

 

• Caution: most selections of Acer platanoides produce large quantities of seeds which can germinate rapidly and crowd out native species.  Although not native to North America, Norway Maples have been found in second-growth woodlands near cities, especially in the northeastern U.S.
• Sometimes confused with Acer saccharum, Sugar Maple, see comparison.

 

• There have been many selections from this species and a large number are available commercially, Dirr (1998) lists 36 and Jacobson (1996) lists over 45.  Some of the more popular selections include:
  
  • ‘Cleveland’  -  medium green, upright, oval, dense, 40 × 30 ft (12 × 9 m); yellow fall color.
  • ‘Columnare’  -  dark green, narrow, upright, ascending branches, 35 × 15 ft (11 × 4.5 m); yellow fall color.
  •  Conquest™  (‘Conzam’)  -  purplish red then dark green, columnar, 35 × 8 ft (11 × 2.4 m); red fall color.
  • ‘Crimson King’  -  deep purple, oval, becoming rounded, 40 × 35 ft (12 × 11 m); maroon to reddish bronze fall color.
  • Crimson Sentry™  -  deep purple, compact, dense, pyramidal to oval, 25 × 15 ft (7.5 × 4.5 m); maroon to reddish bronze fall color.
  • ‘Deborah’  -  reddish purple then bronze green, broadly oval to rounded, 45 × 40 ft (14 × 12 m); bronze fall color.
  • ‘Drummundii’  -  variegated, light green with creamy white margin, broadly oval, 35 × 25 ft (11 × 7.5 m); yellowish fall color.
  •  Emerald Lustre™  (‘Pond’)  -  medium green, upright spreading, rounded, 45 × 40 ft (14 × 12 m); yellow fall color.
  • ‘Emerald Queen’  -  deep green, reddish tint in spring, dense, oval, upright sreading branches, 50 × 40 ft (15 × 12 m); yellow fall color.
  • ‘Fairview’  -  reddish purple then bronze green, upright oval, 45 × 35 ft (14 × 11 m); yellow gold fall color.
  • ‘Globosum’  -  medium green, dense, round, short and wide, 15 × 18 ft (4.5 × 5.5 m); yellow fall color.
  •  Parkway®;  (‘Columnarbroad’)  -  dark green, oval with good central leader, 40 × 25 ft (12 × 7.5 m); yellow fall color.
  • ‘Princeton Gold’  -  bright yellow, oval, 35 × 30 ft (11 × 9 m); yellow fall color.
  • ‘Royal Red’  -  deep purple, oval then becoming rounded, 40 × 30 ft (12 × 9 m); maroon to reddish bronze fall color.
  • ‘Schwedleri’  -  purplish red becoming dark green, 40-50 × 40-50 ft (12-15 × 12-15 m); organge red fall color.
  •  Summershade®  -  light green, broad, rounded, 42 × 40 ft (13 × 12 m); yellow fall color.
  • ‘Superform’  -  medium green, broadly oval to rounded, 45 × 40 ft (14 × 12 m); yellow fall color.

 

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• Paperbark Maple:

  

 

• Broadleaf deciduous tree, 20-30 ft (6-9 m), upright, oval, very attractive copper-red bark, exfoliates, paper-like.  Leaves opposite, compound (trifoliate i.e., 3 leaflets), 7-13 cm long, middle leaflet short stalked and coarsely toothed, lateral leaflets nearly without a stalk and not as toothed, blue-green above, pale green to whitish below; petiole pubescent.  Fall color may range from green, red-brown, to a striking red.  Flowers yellowish white, small, fragrant, in small clusters (panicles), appear as leaves expand.  Fruit (samara) 2.5-4 cm long, wings diverge at a 60-90^o angle.

 

• Sun to part shade.  Adaptable to varied soils, prefers well-drained and moist soils, but performs well in clay soils; pH adaptable.  Can even be used in bonsai.

 

• Hardy to USDA Zone 4    Native to Central China.

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• Amur Maple:

  

 

• Deciduous tree/shrub, 10-20 ft (3-6 m) high, multistemmed, rounded but variable, open.  Leaves opposite, simple, 2.5-7.5 cm long, 3-lobed, relatively long central lobe.  Fruit (samaras) hang on late into fall, wings nearly parallel.

 

• Sun to part shade, very adaptable, very hardy (popular in east and midwest), performs best in well-drained soil.  Relatively free of disease and pest problems.

 

• Hardy to USDA Zone 2         Native to Central and northern China, Manchuria, and Japan.  Now considered to be a subspecies of Acer tataricum (Tatarian Maple), leaves of adult trees of this species are unlobed, whereas leaves of young trees or vigorous shoots may be 3- to 5-lobed, resembling those of A. ginnala.

 

• Several cultivars, including:
  • ‘Embers’   -   red fruit and red fall color
  • ‘Flame’   -   fast growing, long arching branches, fall color orange-red to deep red
  • 'Emerald Elf'   -   dwarf form

 

 

 

 

 

Common problems with Maple trees:

 

 

Insects:

 

Aphids	Cottony Maple Scale	Twospotted Spider Mite	Asian Longhorned Beetle
Aphids feed by sucking up plant juices through a food channel in their beaks. At the same time, they inject saliva into the host. Light infestations are usually not harmful to plants, but higher infestations may result in leaf curl, wilting, stunting of shoot growth, and delay in production of flowers and fruit, as well as a general decline in plant vigor. Some aphids are also important vectors of plant diseases, transmitting pathogens in the feeding process. A sticky glaze of honeydew may collect on lower leaves, outdoor furniture, cars, and other objects below aphid feeding sites. Honeydew coated objects soon become covered by one or more brown fungi known as sooty molds. Crusts of sooty mold are unsightly on man-made objects, and they can interfere with photosynthesis in leaves. MORE INFO		The twospotted spider mite prefers the hot, dry weather of the summer and fall months, but may occur anytime during the year. Spider mites feed by penetrating the plant tissue with their mouthparts and are found primarily on the underside of the leaf. All spider mites spin fine strands of webbing on the host plant — hence their name. For detection of spider mites, a 10X to 15X magnifying glass is a necessity. MORE INFO	The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is an exotic pest threatening a wide variety of hardwood trees in North America. Adults are large (0.75 - 1.50 inches long) with very long black and white banded antennae.  The body is glossy black with irregular white spots.  Adults can be seen from late spring to fall depending on the climate. ALB attacks and kills many hardwood trees, such as maple, elm, horsechestnut, ash, birch, poplar, willow and many more.  ALB could significantly disrupt the forest ecosystem if it became established over a large area.   MORE INFO
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Diseases:

 

Wetwood (slime flux)			Maple Tree Decline
Bacterial wetwood, also called slime flux, is a major bole rot of trunk and branches of trees. Slime flux has been attributed to bacterial infection in the inner sapwood and outer heartwood area of the tree. A tree with slime flux is water-soaked and "weeps" from visible wounds and even from healthy looking bark. The "weeping" may be a good thing as it is having a slow, natural draining effect on a bacterium that needs a dark, damp environment. A tree with this bole rot is trying its best to compartmentalize the damage.   MORE INFO			Early symptoms are chlorotic appearance of the leaves (yellowing). As the tree matures over a number of years, the chlorosis increases, brown spotting takes place on the leaves, scorching and premature leaf drop occurs. Trees in the later stages show twig and branch die-back. The symptoms can occur over a 20 to 30-year time frame. Eventually the tree will show enough die-back that it will no longer enhance the landscaping and would need to be removed for aesthetic and/or safety reasons. Problems stem from soils and water that are high in alkalinity, and also from root diseases causing insufficient mining of soil nutrients. When soil PH rises above 7.0, iron cannot be assimilated by the roots. Iron, zinc, and manganese are essential for green leaves MORE INFO
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