Acer Saccharum - Sugar Maple Seedlings

Acer saccharum: Shade and Color

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is a native hardwood grown for its dense shade, long life, and some of the best fall color of any tree. As it matures, it forms a symmetrical, rounded crown, which is why it is planted so often in yards, parks, farms, and restoration plantings.

Fresh green foliage appears in spring and provides cool, dense shade throughout the growing season. In the autumn months, its foliage turns golden yellow, bright orange, and red, forming one of the most spectacular autumn displays in the landscape. In winter, its dense branching habit and architectural form give it a structural point of interest. A mature sugar maple reaches 60 to 75 feet tall and 40 to 50 feet wide.

Wildlife and Healthy Native Landscapes Depend on Acer saccharum Seedlings

A native hardwood shade tree, it provides habitat for birds, helpful insects, and other wildlife, and is an important component of healthy native ecosystems. Its early spring flowers give bees some of the first pollen of the year, its leaves feed hundreds of kinds of caterpillars, and squirrels, chipmunks, and birds eat its seeds.

Its beautiful foliage nicely complements flowering trees, native shrubs, ornamental grasses, woodland wildflowers, and ferns.

Sugar Maple Seedlings for Sale: Ideal for Wholesale and Large Plantings

Sugar maple seedlings are an inexpensive way to plant top-quality native hardwoods on a large scale. Our sugar maple seedlings for sale come in packs of 50, 100, or 500. They are an excellent choice for wholesale buyers, municipalities, schools, parks, commercial developments, farms, conservation organizations, and homeowners who want to create a long-term landscape. They're also a smart start for a future sugarbush if you'd like to tap your own syrup someday.

Plant one as a single shade tree, or mass them to grow a natural woodland. Sugar maples grow slowly to moderately, about a foot a year once settled, but they pay you back with centuries of shade and color.

Pick a spot in full sun or light shade, with rich, moist soil that drains well and leans slightly acidic. Zones 3 through 8 suit them best. Steer clear of salted roadsides, packed-down ground, and places that bake dry every summer. Before planting, scrape away grass and weeds in a 3-foot circle so the young roots don't have to compete. Woodlot and restoration plantings do well at 8 to 12 feet apart, while a future shade tree needs 30 to 40 feet of its own.

This plant ships bare root, so get it in the ground soon after the box arrives. Let the roots soak for a couple of hours first. Set each seedling so the root collar sits level with the soil, press the dirt firmly around it, and give it a good drink. Through that first summer, make sure it gets about an inch of water a week, from rain or your hose. Deer find young maples hard to resist, and a tree tube or wire cage will keep them away. Above ground, expect little for the first year or two while the roots settle in.

Planting & Growing Information

Ships: Ships Between November 15–29
Planting Zone: 3–8
Height at Maturity: 60–75 Feet
Water Needs: Moderate
Sun or Shade: Full sun and Partial shade
Bloom Season: Early spring 
Care: Clear grass and weeds from a 3-foot circle around each seedling, and water about an inch a week through the first summer. Protect young seedlings from deer with a tree tube or wire cage. Avoid salted roadsides and compacted soil.
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade. 
Plant Attributes: Outstanding Fall Color, Dense Shade Canopy, Long-Lived Hardwood, Sap for Maple Syrup

For more tips on planting, growing, and caring for sugar maple seedlings, explore our Sugar Maple guide. You can also browse our collection of tree seedlings to discover more native varieties for shade, woodland restoration, and large-scale planting projects.