Maples, Easy to Grow and So Much Colour!

By Jos Van Hage

The maple gives  extra fall colour, and there are several varieties that grow well in the Prince George  area.

The Maple (Acer) tree makes an attractive shade tree throughout the summer  but in the fall it becomes a blaze of color which makes it standout out in any landscape. There are several varieties with ranging sizes that grow   well in our Prince George region so you are sure to find one that will suit your landscape.

Maples are easy to grow and do not require a lot of maintenance and have a long life span making them a good investment for the yard.

 When choosing a site to plant your maple you must think ahead to the future when the tree will reach its full height and width. Give it lots of space and watch that you do not plant too close to any overhead power lines. Generally maples grow best in full sun to partial shade. To grow a strong, healthy tree start with a good well drained soil. Some varieties of maples require more moisture than others. For instance the Amur maple can withstand drier conditions, whereas the red and silver maples grow well in a soil that is a little wetter.

Yearly care consists of fertilizing the tree during the growing season with either tree spikes that are placed into the soil surrounding the tree in the spring or giving it granular fertilizer in the spring and following up with another application in mid summer. Use a tree/shrub tree fertilizer that tends to have a higher first number (nitrogen) such as 18- 4- 8. In September to strengthen the tree to face the winter you can give it an application of 0-0-50.

A very important tip to remember about Maples is that they are never pruned in the spring when you would prune most of your other deciduous trees. This is because their sap is running and to prune them would heavily set them back or kill them. Any pruning that needs to be done is done in the summer around July. I suggest that before you prune the tree cut off a small branch and see if the sap is running before you go ahead with any major pruning. Pruning is done to keep the tree in shape and remove any wayward, crossing branches or any branches that are broken, dead or diseased.

Some varieties of maple that are hardy for our northern climate are the  'Autumn Blaze' which as the name states has a beautiful fall color of red  and orange while during the summer the foliage is green. It is fast growing and grows up to 20 m tall and has a spread of 15m. The 'Crimson King' is a colorful tree throughout the summer as the foliage is purple and in the fall it turns red. It grows 10-12 m tall and spreads 10-12m.

 The 'Silver Maple' has light green foliage which is silvery underneath that turns yellow in the fall. It is a fast grower reaching heights of 5-20m with a 12-15 m spread. The silver maple tolerates extreme conditions and can withstand wet conditions for small periods of time as well as poor soil. The 'Sugar Maple' needs a lot of space as it grows 15-18 m tall and 8-12m wide. This fast growing tree has foliage that is green during the summer and then turns bright yellow and then orange in fall giving it great fall color. A smaller maple is the 'Amur maple' which grows 4-6 m tall and has a spread of 4m. It has delicate dark green glossy leaves that turn shades of yellow and red.

All these maples have flowers in the spring that bear winged fruit in the fall. As kids we always called them "helicopters" because when you toss them in the air they flutter and spin down.

This is a great time to be planting trees so take advantage of the end of summer sales and plant a maple.

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George,

• Highway 16 West  at Kimball Road
• Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road

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