# Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

> A large, dense, oval shade tree with gray-brown bark that furrows into plates and five-lobed leaves that turn brilliant yellow, orange and red in fall, often all on one tree. Paired winged seeds ripen in late summer. It was a classic street tree but declined in cities because it cannot take road salt, pollution, heat or compacted soil, so today it is best in lawns, parks and larger yards where its shallow roots will not fight pavement.

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

## Facts

- Also called: Hard maple, Rock maple
- Family: Sapindaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 22 m; spread 14 m
- Growth: Slow growing; lives about 200 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 8
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Moist, well-drained loam, clay or sand with plenty of organic matter; acid to neutral; fails on compacted, salted or poorly drained sites
- Native range: Hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern and central United States, from Nova Scotia and Ontario south through the Appalachians to Tennessee and west to Minnesota and Missouri.

**Benefits:** Shade, Fall color, Wildlife, Pollinators, Birds, Edible, Long lived

**Good for:** Yard shade, parks, Food

**Watch out for:** Surface roots, Pest prone

## Care

Transplants well; plant in moist, well-drained soil in sun or part shade and water deeply through the first two summers. Avoid spring pruning because maples bleed sap; prune in summer or when fully dormant. Watch for verticillium wilt, tar spot, anthracnose, leaf scorch in drought, aphids, scale and borers.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Canada (Native to Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.); United States (Native across the eastern and central US from Maine and Minnesota south to Tennessee and Missouri (more than 15 states); USDA PLANTS lists it native to the lower 48.)
- **Recommended:** Toronto, ON, Canada (On Toronto's list of species planted on streets (native to Ontario).); 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)

## Sources

- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/acer-saccharum/
- https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/sugar-maple/
- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/ACSA3
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum