How to Grow Sugar Maple Trees
Acer saccharum--the sugar maple--grows natively in the US and Canada, providing wood, maple syrup and beauty to the landscape. So important is the tree that the sugar maple is New York's state tree and its leaf adorns the Canadian flag. Sugar maples can grow to over 100 feet, but typical specimens are 70 to 90 feet tall. Depending on whether the maple grows in the open or in forests, tree crowns measure up to about 80 feet across; sugar maples should be given room to spread. Buy young trees from nurseries, and plant them in spring. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Sugar maple tree in container, wire basket or with roots balled and covered in burlap
- Wire cutter (optional)
- Mulch
- Small pruning shears
- Phosphorus fertilizer
Instructions
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Choose a place for the tree that features well-drained, though not extremely sandy, soil. Additionally, soil should give roots plenty of room to search for nutrients.
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Dig a hole equal to the height of the container or root ball and about four times as wide as the diameter of the root ball or container.
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3
Scarify (make cuts and scratches) the sides of the hole.
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4
Lay the tree on its side to remove synthetic burlap or the container, then loosen the roots at the edges if need be. Try not to disturb the root ball very much.
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Leave on wire baskets containing the root ball, only cutting away as much of the wire as possible without actually taking the basket off.
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Plant the tree in the center of the hole.
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Take out nails from any natural burlap at the top of the root ball or untie it. Pull the burlap down.
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Replace the soil in the hole.
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Create a water ring at the outer boundary of the filled hole by building a circular mound of soil. If the tree was small--say, coming in a 3-gallon container--the mound can be a few inches tall. Larger trees mean larger mounds, these up to about 10 or so inches. You can level the ring later when the tree is established.
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Apply about 3 inches of mulch beneath the tree, extending over the ring.
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Prune off any damaged limbs.
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Fertilize the young tree with a phosphorus fertilizer according to package directions.
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Give about an inch of water once per week until the tree goes dormant for winter. Water again when growth returns.
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Tips & Warnings
Allow trees to regenerate themselves if you want to establish a stand. After the seeds fall in autumn, maples will sprout the following spring. Let fallen maple leaves gather where they lay to give seeds a place to germinate.
If deers in the area eat the seedlings, consult your county extension agent, who can, if need be, recommend foresters who can advise you.
Maples are deciduous and shed lots of leaves, which enrich soil as they decay. Keep the leaves for compost.
