Valued as specter trees and for their dramatic nightfall color , maples come in a wide range of sizes that fit even in a humble backyard .
Maplesare the chancellor trees for supply refinement and dramatic declivity color . But if you think maple are only showy for their leaves , think again . Some case , such as the paperbark maple and coral barkJapanese maple , exhibit challenging branch color and texture . Other species , such as the cherry-red maple , expose brightly non-white bloom clusters . Happily , there ’s a maple tree for just about every size landscape — from small varieties that stay below 20 feet tall to big metal money that often reach 100 feet or more .
As if more than 130 maple species were n’t enough , industrial plant breeders go along to bring Modern specie and cultivars to the market . Some introductions boast all the great attributes of a gravid maple while maturing at only 20 to 30 feet tall and 15 to 20 foot wide . These small but mighty maples are great for suburban landscapes , providing specter , brilliant fall leaf color , and the class - round presence of a tree diagram that ’s easy to acquire in a small quad . And you do n’t postulate a backyard to found a maple tree — some Japanese maples are even worthy to be grown in containers , and they are popular to be grow asbonsai , too .
Credit: Adam Albright
Where to Plant a Maple Tree
depend on the variety of maple , plant it in a positioning with full sun or part shade and well - draining , productive soil . Most maple succeed in a wide soil pH range but slightly acidic soil is best .
maple do in a wide kitchen stove of form and sizes . They are tall or low - growing , wide - spreading or narrow and columniform , round , or mounded . The growth rate also varies depending on the coinage . Adapt the build and size of the maple you plant to the landscape use . There are many place where you’re able to plant a maple : as a specimen in the center of a lawn , a patio Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , or a molding accent . Several maple in a rowing make good hedges or secrecy screens . Dwarf varieties are desirable container plants .
The introduced Norway maple and Amur maple are invasive . Seventeen states have declared Norway maple as an invasive species . Even if those mintage are not ( yet ) trespassing where you live , it is always unspoilt to imbed a maple that has no roll in the hay invading potential .
Credit: Adam Albright
How and When to Plant a Maple Tree
bound or fall is the good time to found maple . Dig a planting hollow twice as wide as the root ball and just as bass . Position the tree in the golf hole so the top of the root bollock is level with the surrounding territory . If theplanting soilis slow - draining , implant the maple so the top of the root Lucille Ball is about 2 inches above the surrounding soil to alleviate good drain . Water the fresh planted tree regularly during the first year .
Maple Care Tips
maple are at home in different habitats around the earth , and thus their growing conditions are not all the same . buy your maple from a reputable local nursery that specializes in variety show well - suited to your area .
Light
broadly , maples grow best in a planting site withfull sunor part specter . Some coinage , such as Nipponese maple , grow good in strain Inner Light where their leaves are protect from direct sunlight , which may have leafage scorch .
Soil and Water
Maple prospers in moist , poriferous , well - drained , nourishing - rich soil although they develop well in a huge range of mountains of soil types . A few mintage , such as silver maple , thrive in moist to wet soil . The pH should bebetween 5.0 and 7.0 . In alkaline grime , the trees are more prone to brook nourishing deficiency .
tearing at least 1 inch per calendar week in a wide circle around the tree diagram is a must for newly set maples during their first class of ontogenesis . Covering the root zone with a2 - column inch - duncical stratum of mulchprevents soil moisture red ink . Some established maples tolerate restrained drought .
Temperature and Humidity
The boldness of maple varies ; some are only fearless to Zone 5 , but others tolerate wintertime temperatures as low as those in Zone 3 . The same practice to heat - tolerance . Several Japanese maple varieties have been bred especially for blistering climates , preferably hot and arid . There are also maple species that prosper in a humid clime , such as bigleaf maple ( Acer macrofolium ) , which is native to the Pacific Northwest and thrives in moist consideration .
Fertilizer
If planted in rich , fertile soil , established maple trees typically do not need plant food , especially if you regularly add a thick layer of hardwood mulch below the canopy ( but without the mulch being directly piled up against the tree proboscis ) . Young trees benefit from the app of aslow - press release shrub and tree fertilizerin the outpouring .
Pruning
As the maturation charge per unit of maple varies , so does the pruning to exert a desired size or improve the branching structure of the tree . Japanese maples have their ownspecific pruning necessity . All other maple should be pruned in mid- to late summer . Unlike other deciduous tree , pruning maples in the winter or former spring causes the tree to phlebotomize its sugary sap . This is not only mussy but makes it vulnerable to pest and diseases .
Potting and Repotting a Maple Tree
Only nanus varieties of Nipponese maple are desirable to be grown in containers , Use a heavyweight container that does not well tip over . The size should be at the upper limit twice the diam of the tree ’s ancestor ball and the pot should be as bass as the nursery container . Make indisputable the container has large drainage hole and replete it with a compounding of well - drain potting mixture and compost . Keep in mind that container plants require more frequent lachrymation and impregnation than plant in the landscape .
Although the tree is wintertime - hardy in cold clime , container expose the source to the cold . Keep the Nipponese maple out of doors all winter but isolate the pot by dip the container in the ground or by placing it in a 2d , large pot to make a planting silo . Another choice is to wrap the container with bubble wrap .
Repotting will not be required often , asJapanese maple is a tiresome growerand prospers even when the roots equip snugly in the gage . Once it has outgrown the container , repot the tree to a larger size with fresh potting mix and compost .
Pests and Problems
usual blighter of maples includeJapanese beetles , murphy leafhoppers , Asian longhorned beetle , and bagworm . Fungal leaf spots including tar blot , anthracnose , verticillium wilt , bacterial leaf scorch , canker , and collar rot are diseases find out on maples . Not all maple species are equally susceptible to pesterer , disease , and other problems . What all maples have in vernacular , though , is a thin bark that is easily damaged automatically and gets cracks , which then offers an entree for pests and diseases .
Generally , tight - growing maple ( cherry and silver maples ) have indulgent wood and are more prone to breakage in ice tempest than slow - spring up maple with voiceless wood , include Japanese maple and trident maple .
How to Propagate a Maple Tree
Unless a maple variety is protected by a plant patent , it is possible topropagate it from a cutting . In midsummer or in warmer clime in midfall , take a 4 - inch cutting from the tips of a healthy Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Remove all the leaves from the lower helping of the cutting . Using a sharp knife , scrape about 1 column inch of the bark on the lower stem and junk it thick with rooting hormone .
Fill a 4 - in pot with moist potting intermixture and intrude a hole in the shopping centre with a pencil or a stick . Insert the cutting off 2 inches deep into the pot medium . Cover the passel with a clean plastic bag or a milk jugful with the bottom turn out out . Keep the cutting evenly moist and out of direct sunshine . When the carving has rooted , which you may check by gently wiggling it , place it in a sunny localisation and let it grow into a solid sapling before transplanting it into the landscape . In locations with cold winters , entomb the pot in a garden bed from recent evenfall to spring to insulate the root from the freezing temperatures .
Types of Maple Trees
‘Beni Kawa’ Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum’Beni - Kawa ' features little green leaves that turn over golden chickenhearted in fall . Its stems acquit reddish tones in winter . It grows 15 feet tall and 12 invertebrate foot wide . Zones 6 - 9
‘Beni Schichihenge’ Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum’Beni Schichihenge ' bear green leaf march in pink and pick . They turn shadowiness of yellow in fall . It grow 8 feet tall and wide . zone 6 - 9
‘Bloodgood’ Japanese Maple
This cultivar ofAcer palmatumis among the most popular Japanese maples thanks to its deep lob , dark red leaves that turn bright carmine in autumn . It produce 15 feet tall and wide . Zones 6 - 8
‘Crimson Queen’ Japanese Maple
Acer palmatumvar.dissectum’Crimson Queen ' offer arching leg and exquisitely textured cherry - purpleness leaf . It raise only 12 feet grandiloquent and wide . zone 6 - 8
‘Dissectum Atropurpureum’ Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum’Dissectum Atropurpureum ' bear broad , arching branches with exquisitely textured reddish - purple leaves . It grow 8 foundation improbable and 10 feet wide . Zones 6 - 8
‘Villa Taranto’ Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum’Villa Taranto ' bear spidery leaves that start up pink and slice to brilliant green in summertime , then transform to yellow in fall . It grow 10 feet magniloquent and wide-eyed . zone 6 - 8
‘Higasayama’ Japanese Maple
This sort ofAcer palmatumbears green leafage mark in pinkish and blank . They turn shades of atomic number 79 in drop . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree grows 15 understructure tall and extensive . zona 6 - 8
Full-Moon Maple
' Aconitifolium ' is a dwarf cultivar of another Japanese maple species , Acer japonicum . It bears profoundly lobed , almost feathery folio that release yellowish , red , and orange in fall . It grows 10 foot grandiloquent and wide-eyed . Zones 5 - 8
Golden Full-Moon Maple
' Aureum ' is a cultivar of the Japanese mapleAcer shirasawanum . It produces large , pleated leaves that are tinted amber and perfect for tally light to a shady spot . It grows 20 foot tall and wide . zona 5 - 7
Paperbark Maple
Acer griseumbears peeling , orange - brown barque resonant of a river birch on a small tree diagram that features red - orange fall leaf color . It grow 30 foot tall and encompassing . Zones 4 - 8
Red Maple
Acer rubrumhas earned its name for its promising cherry-red fall colour . It ’s native to North America and develop 70 feet tall and 30 feet extensive . Zones 3 - 9
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharumis among the easiest to maturate of all maples . The tree , which is aboriginal to North America , is also called punishing maple . It grows 70 feet tall . Popular cultivar admit ‘ Green Mountain ’ , ‘ Apollo ’ , and ‘ Autumn Fest ’ . zone 4 - 8 .
Threeflower Maple
Acer triflorumis a delightful small tree with attractive peel off bark and mid - greenish leaves that turn bold orange and yellowish in fall . It grows 30 feet marvelous and 25 feet wide . zona 5 - 7
Variegated Hornbeam Maple
This cultivar of the hornbeam maple , Acer carpinifolium , features white - streaked barque and foliage liberally streaked with white . It grows 20 human foot tall and all-inclusive . zone 6 - 8
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you buy a maple tree at at big boxwood store or a local nursery , it is significant to carefully examine the tree diagram prior to purchase . If possible , slip it out of its growing container and seem at the rootage system . If the root word are circling around the exterior of the soil ball , pick out a different industrial plant . Also , examine the branch anatomical structure . A suitable maple features a define central leg growing upward along with small side branches .
The confluent theme of many maple are shallow and run way beyond the canopy of the tree diagram . They grow quite aggressively , look for wet , and often make it hard to get other plant , annuals or perennial , established , let alone lawn that needs mow . alternatively , cover the surface roots below the tree with a 3- to 4 - column inch layer of mulch , which also preserves dirt moisture and suppress weeds .
Updated by Nadia Hassani
Credit: Adam Albright
