Silver Maple Tree

These trees came packed with TLC, and I am pleased 100 percent. They are already thriving in my yard. Thank you so much for packing them so great, and for healthy trees. RAMONA KENDRICK, South Mississippi

These trees came packed with TLC, and I am pleased 100 percent. They are already thriving in my yard. Thank you so much for packing them so great, and for healthy trees. RAMONA KENDRICK, South Mississippi

My parents planted a silver maple in our front yard when I was born. It was about 2 or 3 feet high when planted and now it is 46 years later and the tree is huge! I grew up raking up after this tree, using a hatchet to cut fallen limbs into smaller parts, etc. My dog used to jump in the newly raked piles of leaves every Autumn and he thought that was great fun. We also had a low limb that made it the perfect climbing tree. Once we put some wood up in the tree to create a bench and my sister and I would sit up there and look over the whole neighborhood. We did not have a problem with the roots coming up and damaging the sidewalk; however, the tops of a few large roots caused the ashphalt driveway to come up a little at the edge. We did not have any major sewer problems from the tree roots. At one time we had two trees in the front yard so it is hard to say which one caused the plumbing to need a rooter service, but the other tree died off. Guess it was no match for the Silver Maple. There is a short time of a few weeks in the fall when sap comes down from the tree so you dont want to park under it and you have to hose off your fence, driveway, and sidewalk so they dont get sticky and slippery. Sometimes the aphids will come for the tree. It is a good idea to buy a container of ladybugs for your yard since they eat the aphids. The leaves turn nice colors and they are very light and crumble easily. They make good compost. In fact, if you have a good composting lawnmower, you can just run the mower over the leaves on the grass which will crumble them back in the soil! That is what I did this year. Ive been helping my Dad with yard work and I found I didnt even need a rake this year. Get a high pressure hose handle, and you can easily squirt these leaves out of flower beds and squirt them to the middle of the yard and then mow over them. We also had a major pruning last year so the tree isnt as big as it once was. We had branches cut that were over the house, the sidewalk, and the neighbors yard so now if any branches fall out of the tree (and some larger and smaller have) they will fall in our yard and not cause damage to anyone. Oh, I have noticed some dead limbs have fallen due to termite damage. Hard to say if the termites feasted on dead wood in the tree and then the branches fell, or the termites caused the problem. Dont know how long this tree will live, it could outlive me! Anyway, I noticed it is recommended that you dont plant this near a house or where you park (which is what my Dad did), but we havent had any problems in doing this but maybe we were lucky. It is a nice tree, cools down the house a lot in the summer (and my parents do not have central A/C), and a lot of birds have made the tree their annual place to nest. I have seen so many kinds of birds in that tree, it is really interesting.

For years I have tried to rid my properties of silver (soft) maples, due to the storm damage I experienced from my grandfathers silver maple trees near the house and outbuildings. I now have a new respect for this tree, which I liken to a weed in tree form. If this tree is planted in an area far enough away from buildings or things that can be damaged from wind, snow and ice storms, it can provide a very fast growing, shade providing tree, that will be very durable, can withstand years of breakage, and still rejuvenate itself with regrowth. It is very persistant at this, much like a weed that you try to eliminate. I now am planning to border my property with this tree as a first line buffer defense against severe windstorms. I think it can bear the brunt of storms, and help lift the severe wind up and over the more desirable showpiece trees within their perimeter, where one would like to cultivate special trees for beautification. I remember as a child attending a one room country school, that our school yard was surrounded by these trees, and they had stood there for as long as anyone could remember, and my father had also attended this school. They also can provide a plentiful supply of wood for fireplaces or wood heating stoves and furnaces. If they are properly pruned they will provide multiple trunks that will provide lots of wood for this purpose, and the fact that they are so fast growing gives this factor a quick turnaround time. The fast growth is also the reason for their brittleness. I do lament seeing where so many people have planted them so close to their houses throughout the towns and cities, because they are so impatient to have quick shade. Even though I may not live to see a hardwood slow growing tree to maturity, I would plant one of those near a house or building before a silver maple, but a silver maple could be planted for a quick growth for shade, and a hardwood nearby to take over after a few years, as long as the silver maple is cut down before it gets too gigantic and requires a professional tree cutter to remove it. Its just an idea, and I have presented it to my son, who lives in a new housing addition, and is limited for space, and is in dire need of shade.

My silver maple seems to have a different fall leaf color about every fall. It seems summer temps and rainfall amounts make the leaves color uniquely each year. Last year we had a lovely orange-yellow display and the previous year they were mostly yellow.