# Red maple (Acer rubrum)

> One of the most widely planted shade trees in the eastern US, fast-growing to 40-70 feet with red flowers in late winter, red seeds in spring and reliable red or yellow fall color. It wants moist, acidic soil; on Austin's dry alkaline limestone it yellows and declines, and its dense shallow roots heave sidewalks. The native Drummond red maple of east Texas swamps handles heat best.

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

## Facts

- Also called: Scarlet maple, Swamp maple, Soft maple
- Family: Sapindaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 18 m; spread 12 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 90 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 9
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Likes water
- Soil: Moist, slightly acidic soil; tolerates wet sites and clay; develops manganese chlorosis on alkaline soil
- Native range: Eastern North America from Newfoundland to Florida and west to Minnesota, Oklahoma and east Texas

**Benefits:** Fall color, Fast canopy, Shade, Pollinators, Wildlife, Birds, Flood tolerant

**Good for:** Yard shade, Street tree, parks, Streambanks

**Watch out for:** Surface roots, Weak wood, Toxic parts, Pest prone

## Care

Keep soil moist, especially the first few summers, and mulch widely; do not plant within 8-10 feet of pavement because of surface roots. Prune in summer or fall rather than late winter to avoid heavy sap bleeding. Branches can break in wind and ice. Verticillium wilt, leaf spots, aphids and scale are the main problems; chlorosis on alkaline soil is hard to correct. Leaves and bark are toxic to horses.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** United States (Also native in: CT, DC, DE, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WI, WV (USDA PLANTS distribution)); AL, United States; AR, United States; FL, United States; GA, United States; LA, United States; MS, United States; NC, United States; OK, United States; SC, United States; TN, United States; TX, United States (Native to east Texas; poorly adapted to Central Texas alkaline soils)
- **Recommended:** Toronto, ON, Canada (On the City of Toronto Species Planted on Streets list); Sacramento, CA, United States (On the Sacramento Tree Foundation Shady 80 recommended trees list); Denver, CO, United States (On the Denver Office of the City Forester Approved Street Tree List); Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list); Boston, MA, United States (On the City of Boston Urban Forestry Division recommended public street trees list); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List); Houston, TX, United States (On the City of Houston Planning and Development Department Street Tree List)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/ACRU
- https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ACRU
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/acer-rubrum/
- https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_acru.pdf