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Sugar Maple

Will Ship Spring 2024

Plant Type: Dormant, bare-root

Zones:  3-8

Soil Type:  Loamy & Sandy Soils

Site Selection: Full Sun, Partial Sun, Shade 

Mature Height & Width:  50-70' Height and 35-45' Spread

Growth Rate:  Moderate - 12-24" per year on average

Moisture Requirements: Average soils

Plant Characteristics
DEER RESISTANT
HUNTING PLOT
POLLINATORS
FALL COLORS
ROUND SHAPE
3-8

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum

The Sugar Maple exhibits dark green leaves that turn burnt orange, yellow and red in fall. This brilliant display will make you stop and take notice every autumn. The bark forms an attractive gray color that stands out in winter. This large shade tree is most likely where your maple syrup comes from, it's the most common one used for tapping. The firewood that the Sugar Maple tree produces is coveted due to its ease of splitting, heat value and resulting ash which can be used to enrich gardens.

The Sugar Maple is a large and beautiful tree that is sure to delight. The dark green leaves on this maple tree turn a brilliant red to orange color in autum, one of the best fall color displays of any tree around. This tree should be planted away from roads where its roots can be compacted or the tree could be exposed to road salt. The shallow roots of the Sugar Maple should be left to grow in an area that will not be subject to soil compaction. Driving over the roots, even with a havy garden tractor can cause damage to the tree.  

The Sugar Maple will grow in most soils but will flourish with deep, rich soils that are routinely moist but well drained.

Fun Facts: The NBA uses maple to make the floors that are used in professional basketball. The Sugar Maple is the state tree of New York, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Common uses for Sugar Maple include:

  • Brilliant fall color
  • Lumber used for making cabinets, flooring and furniture
  • Maple syrup production
  • Large shade tree

The Sugar Maple is often browsed by deer, moose and hares.  Red, grey, and flying squirrels sometimes feed on the seed, buds, foliage, and twigs of Sugar Maple.

Product Questions

I have bought several red and yellow maples from you and now that they are growing, when is the best time to trim them?
Question by: Alana Peterson on Sep 3, 2021, 9:40 AM
When to Prune a Maple Tree Many gardeners are confused about when to prune a maple tree. In late winter, when the days are warm and the nights are cold, root pressure causes sap to flow from any wound made in the bark of the tree. This makes it look as if the tree is suffering. However, maple tree pruning in winter generally won’t hurt a mature tree. You would have to remove an entire limb for the loss of sap to negatively impact a fully grown tree. If the tree is just a sapling, however, loss of sap may cause problems. You can avoid this issue if you wait until summer to prune maples. Once the leaf buds open, the sap is no longer under pressure and won’t leak out from pruning wounds. For this reason, many gardeners say that the best time for pruning maples is in summer after the tree is fully in leaf.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Maple Tree Pruning – How And When To Prune A Maple Tree https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/maple/maple-tree-pruning.htm

Answer by: Chief River Nursery on Sep 3, 2021, 10:26 AM
Will these do well in an established tree grove with black walnut?
Question by: Kara Jacque-Rump on Mar 13, 2022, 9:09 AM
Sugar maple is listed as juglone tolerant, so you may plant near the black walnuts.
Answer by: Chief River Nursery on Mar 14, 2022, 10:42 AM