How to Plant Silver Maple Trees

The silver maple features a burst of bright yellow fall color.

The silver maple is a deciduous tree that features deeply lobed green leaves that turn bright yellow and bronze in the fall. The tree, which gets its name from the silvery appearance of the undersides of its leaves, is useful as a fast-growing shade tree and can thrive in poorly drained areas. However, because of its weak, brittle wood -- which can cause limb breakage in ice storms and high wind -- the silver maple should not be planted too close to a house. By following good gardening guidelines for planting, you can help your silver maple tree thrive.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Pine straw, compost, or pulverized bark mulch
• Commercial fertilizer in a 10-6-4 NPK formulation

Instructions

1. Dig a hole for the silver maple tree that is three times the diameter of the root ball and about as deep. Loosen the earth at the sides of the hole to promote good root establishment.

2. Position the tree in the hole so that it is centered and straight, with its best side facing forward. Leave natural, loosely woven burlap on the root ball; it will decompose naturally. Untie fastenings at the top of the ball and pull the material back so that it doesn't stick out of the hole when the tree is planted. Remove synthetic burlap completely.

3. Backfill the hole with the original soil, watering as you go to remove gaps and air holes. Tamp the soil firmly and gently into place, but don't press so hard that you compact the soil.

4. Construct a water ring, or berm, around the silver maple tree to conserve moisture and encourage good growth of perimeter roots. Mold a raised ring of soil roughly 8 inches high and 6 inches wide around the outer edge of the planting hole. Water it thoroughly, so that the ring is filled, and water the seedling regularly thereafter to keep the soil moist. When the water ring dissolves back into the earth, the silver maple tree can be considered to be established and, except in the case of prolonged drought, will need much less frequent watering.

5. Apply a 3-inch layer of pine straw, compost or pulverized bark as a mulch to conserve moisture, protect the roots and provide a physical barrier against diseases.

6. Feed your silver maple tree in late summer with a granular fertilizer in a 10-6-4 NPK formulation, applied at the rate of 3 lbs. of fertilizer per inch of trunk diameter. Spread the fertilizer on the ground out to the drip line -- the place where rainwater falls from the outermost edge of the branches.

Tips & Warnings

• Select a planting site for your young silver maple tree in part shade to full sun with clay, sandy or loamy soil with a pH of 3.5 to 7.5. Although the silver maple prefers acidic soil, it can adapt to alkaline soil as well. The planting site should not be within 20 feet of sidewalks or buildings or within 40 feet of septic tanks and sewer pipes.

References

• University of Connecticut Horticultural Department: Acer Saccharinum
• North Dakota State University Extension: Questions on Silver Maples
• Backyard Gardener: Acer Saccharinum