# Amur maple (Acer ginnala)

> A small, often multi-stemmed maple (now treated botanically as Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala) with three-lobed leaves on red stalks that turn fiery orange-red in fall, fragrant creamy spring flowers and red winged seeds in summer. It is extremely cold-hardy and drought tolerant, so it has been a favorite small yard, hedge and under-wire tree across the northern Plains and Canada. It seeds heavily into prairies and open woods, and Minnesota, Wisconsin and Connecticut now regulate or restrict the straight species.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/acer-ginnala · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Family: Sapindaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 6 m; spread 6 m
- Growth: Fast growing
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 8
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Adapts to most soils and pH levels; best in well-drained ground
- Native range: Native to northeastern Asia from Mongolia through the Amur River valley of Russia to Korea and Japan.

**Benefits:** Fall color, Fits small spaces, Drought tolerant, Flowers, Wildlife, Birds

**Good for:** Small yard, Hedgerow, Screening, Container

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere

## Care

Where permitted (or for exempt cultivars), plant in full sun in well-drained soil and water the first season; it tolerates heavy pruning and hedging in late winter. Pests are minor. Remove volunteer seedlings around plantings; seedless or low-seed cultivars are preferred where the species is regulated.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** China (Native to northeastern China, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Korea and Japan.)
- **Adapted:** Canada (Widely planted hardy small tree across the Prairie provinces and Ontario; USDA PLANTS lists it as introduced in Canada.); United States (Widely planted small tree across the northern US; naturalized in the Northwest and Midwest.)
- **Invasive:** CT, United States (Potentially Invasive on the Connecticut Invasive Plant List (not yet subject to the sale ban).); MN, United States (Specially Regulated Noxious Weed in Minnesota; sellers must label it and advise planting away from natural areas.); PA, United States (On Pennsylvania DCNR's invasive plant fact sheet list.)
- **Prohibited:** WI, United States (Restricted under Wisconsin NR 40 (all cultivars exempt).)

## Sources

- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/acer-ginnala/
- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/ACGI
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_tataricum_subsp._ginnala
- https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/minnesota-noxious-weed-list
- https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/RegulatedSpecies
- https://cipwg.uconn.edu/invasive_plant_list/
- https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/dcnr/conservation/wild-plants/invasive-plants/invasive-plant-fact-sheets.html