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Red maples (Acer rubrum) are native to the eastern half of North America from eastern Canada to Florida and west to Texas. They grow in zones 3-9. This tree is a great addition to your yard if you live in its native range.
General Description
Red maples grow very large. They can reach heights of 120 ft in the wild with a trunk up to six feet in diameter. These deciduous trees normally grow to 40-50 feet in the landscape. The leaves are 3-5 lobed, large, and are green when growing. Fall foliage ranges from the red that gives the tree its name to yellow greenish. Male trees have pinkish red flowers in spring. Female trees develop red V shaped samaras soon after that if there is a male tree nearby. Young trees have a silvery gray bark that provides winter interest. The older trees have thick gray bark that looks like scales. The roots of red maples form dense mats that keep other plants from growing too close to the trunk. Red maples are sometimes less symmetrical than most maples.
There are three known varieties. Acer rubrum rubrum has 5 lobed leaves that are hairy only along the midvein on the underside. Variety drummondii has 3-5 lobed leaves that are hairy on the entire lower surface. It prefers moist, swampy sites and is often referred to as Drummond Maple, Drummond Red Maple, or Swamp Maple. Variety trilobum, also called Trident Maple or Trident Red Maple, has 3 lobed leaves that are hairy on the underside. The leaves of this variety are more likely to turn yellow or yellowish green in the fall than red. It prefers drier sites. Red maples are a soft maple.
Optimal Growing Conditions
Red maples are not terribly common in the wild. They tend to be understory trees. Red maples are tolerant of most soils but prefer slightly acidic, moist soils. Red maples need a lot of water and are not drought tolerant. They are very cold hardy and grow faster than Sugar Maples but not as fast as Silver Maples.
Uses In The Landscape
Red maples make a nice specimen tree in the front or back yard. Variety rubrum is the most reliably red in the fall of the three varieties of red maples. Red maples can be used to make maple syrup. The sugar content of this sap is lower than that of Sugar Maples, so you have to cook off the water at a lower temperature for a longer time than sugar maple sap. Pioneers made ink and cinnamon-brown and black dyes from the bark. The wood is used as a veneer and to make lower quality furniture.
Common Pests, Diseases, And Problems
If planted in alkaline soil, this tree can develop manganese chlorosis. The most common pests are aphids, leafhoppers, borers, scale, and caterpillars. Verticillium wilt is a hazard, along with canker, fungal leaf spot, and root rots.
Deer and moose like to browse on red maples. Squirrels and birds use the trees to live in. Many moths lay their eggs in red maples and the caterpillars eat the foliage before being eaten by birds.
Red maples have thin bark when they are young, which needs to be wrapped to protect against winter injury and sunscald while it doesn’t have leaves to shade the bark. The shallow, flat root system can cause sidewalks and foundations to buckle if the tree is planted too near to those areas. Red maples are sensitive to salt so protect them from road salt.
Planting A Red Maple
Choose a place that gets full sun or dappled sun to plant your red maple tree. Dig a hole twice as big around as the roots and a foot deeper. Do not add fertilizer to the hole because it can burn the smaller root hairs and kill the tree. It can also void the warranty.
Put a foot of loose dirt back in the hole. You need another person to hold the tree while you fill the hole with the soil that came out of it. Water the tree and refill the hole. When watering does not cause the soil level to drop, use the left over soil to build a berm about three inches high around the tree. This will hold in water when you water the tree until the soil absorbs the moisture.
Spread three inches of hardwood mulch or pine straw around the tree inside the berm. Do not let the mulch or straw touch the trunk.
Red Maple Care
After planting your red maple tree, water daily for the first two weeks to allow the roots to become established. Gradually reduce the frequency of watering to once a week. Water for about a year. When the tree is mature, you will have to deeply water it under the canopy during a drought.
Red maples need more water than most landscape trees. The leaves and bark are poisonous to livestock so do not plant it in areas livestock can reach.
Can’t Grow Red Maples? Try These Instead
If you want a more reliable maple syrup source, you can plant a sugar maple. Sugar maples have twice as much sugar in their sap than red maples do. Silver maples make a good alternative for a landscape tree.
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If you have any questions, the staff at TN Nursery are happy to answer them. Simply call 931.692.4252 and we will help you. Ready to order? Call sales at 931.692.7325.
