How to Plant Sugar Maple Trees From Seed

Sugar maple showing its fall colors.

Sugar-maple trees are very popular and hardy from zones 3 to 9 in the U.S. The sugar-maple tree takes 30 to 40 years to produce seeds. The best seeds are produced when the tree is around 60 years old. The tree has a growth rate of about a foot per year for the first 20 years. The sugar-maple tree is the only maple used for producing maple syrup. They are great shade trees and have very colorful leaves in the fall.

Things You'll Need

• Maple seedpods
• Plastic baggie
• Peat moss
• 6-inch pots
• Organic potting soil
• Spray bottle
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. 

   Sugar-maple seed propellers

   Gather a dozen or so seeds from an existing sugar maple in the late summer or fall, when all the little "propellers" or samaras, start flying around. Break the seed out of its propeller.

2. Place the dozen or so seeds in a plastic bag with some moist peat moss. Place the bag in the back of the refrigerator for the winter, about 90 days.

3. 

   Pile of 6-inch pots

   Prepare the 6-inch pots by filling them with organic-potting soil.

4. Press two or three seeds into the organic-potting soil about one quarter of an inch deep. Pat the soil on the top of the seeds.

5. Mist the top of the soil daily for three to five months. Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Place the pots in a sunny spot with a lot of indirect sunlight.

6. Keep the seeds and seedlings warm for the three- to five-month-germination period. The ideal temperature should be consistently 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Once the trees have sprouted and are about a foot tall, choose the strongest one and discard the rest. The strongest is usually the tallest, but if a tall one only has a few leaves, it may be better to take the one with the most leaves.

8. Transplant the seedlings the fall after they have grown for a full year. Choose a spot where the tree will get plenty of sunlight and will have enough room to mature.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a plant light or heating pad to keep the correct temperature.

• Do not plant a sugar maple tree too close to buildings. These trees get over 100 feet tall, and the roots can cause serious damage to building foundations, septic systems and other underground utilities. Remember if a tree spans 60 feet wide at the top, the roots span that wide underground.

References

• U.S. Forest Service

Resources

• Grow it: zones