Today we're celebrating, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), the most abundant maple found in New York and the state's official tree, and the national emblem of Canada — this is one cool tree!
Even if distinguishing species of trees isn't your claim to fame, it's nearly impossible to not peg this one during autumn, with its telltale orange- and yellow-tinged foliage. Other trees are downright spectacular, too, the red leaves of the red maples, the yellows of the birch and Norway maples or even the plum color of the mighty ash, but the sugar maple...
At this time of year, as the days grow shorter, temperatures dip and production of the chlorophyll pigment that usually makes the leaf green begins to slow down, yielding to carotenoid pigment that produces the maple's telltale fall color.
A very large deciduous tree, a mature sugar maple can spread outwards 65 to 75 feet and upwards to 90 feet. Its oval outline sets it apart from its maple cousins. If that's not enough of a hint, there is always its late winter/early spring donning of plastic tubing with buckets dangling at collection sites on its trunk for it its treasured sap. Or maybe its bark might give it away with its old, shaggy appearance.
Once the tree reaches about 30 years, just about the time the leaves begin to unfurl, it is covered in tiny chartreuse green flowers, which, if viewed up close, look as if Dr. Seuss designed them. Following pollination, the infamous "helicopters" form, maturing in 10 to 12 weeks. Once ripe and encouraged by the slightest breeze, they take flight fluttering downwards to awaiting chipmunks, squirrels, mice and a dancing child or two.
A mature sugar maple produces mass amounts of seed in two to five year intervals, and this is often determined by climate conditions, particularly rainfall the previous season as well as rain and temperature during pollination time. So it is not your imagination if you think there are more ''helicopters'' one year than another.
The sugar maple can become quite an impressive specimen if grown in an open, sunny location where branch formation can begin low on the trunk. When it grows in a forested site, the lower branches typically die back, leaving a totem pole-styled trunk that branches once it breaks through the upper canopy of neighboring trees.
Its leaves are a great source of organic matter, providing calcium, nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) minerals. It never ceases to amaze me how nature takes care of herself. Think about it — the leaf litter of the forest recycles itself back to the soil as nutrients, actually a complete fertilizer providing the big three nutrients, N, P and K for yet another season of growth. There's a good lesson here for us: When we rake our maple leaves this fall, don't just bag and toss them. Recycle them back into the soil for free fertilizer.
As for pH, the preferred range is around 5.5 to 7.2, but they can tolerate an acidic soil as low as 3.8. Hardy zones 4 to 8, which makes it quite clear that those folks down south are most likely as jealous of us come fall, since they can't marvel at their foliage as envy their sunshine come February.
Maples need deep, moisture-retentive yet well drained soil, no standing water or high water tables. They sport a fibrous root system, which can spread well beyond their drip line (branch tips), so properly space a sugar maple at least half its mature canopy diameter from any structure or paved area.
A few other planting alerts: They are not road salt tolerant, which means they do not make good street trees where salting is an issue. Their ''helicopters'' can come down by the tens of thousands in late spring, coating the ground, clogging pool skimmers and messing up that fresh layer of mulch, so locate accordingly.
Sugar Maples can live a long life; 150 years is not that uncommon. Typically the first 30 or so years, they average growth of about 12 inches in height and less than a quarter inch in trunk girth. So a 30-year-old tree would be roughly 30 feet high and about 6 inches in trunk diameter just above the root flare.
A queen of the fall landscape, savor the color with your little green thumbs by dipping an orange-yellow leaf in melted paraffin or ironing it between 2 pieces of waxed paper.