← Bedfellow

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum

The tree behind maple syrup: forty-odd gallons of late-winter sap boil down to one of syrup, and the same stored sugar drives the incandescent orange-red fall color. Long-lived, deeply shade-tolerant, a foundation of the northern hardwood forest and host to a very large number of caterpillar species. Sensitive to road salt, compaction and reflected heat, so give it room well away from pavement.

Family

Sapindaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

40–80 ft

Spacing

30–60 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade, shade

Soil moisture

dry

Soil pH

acidic, neutral, alkaline

Bloom

April, May

Bloom colors

yellow, green, brown

Wildlife value

butterflies, pollinators, mammals, songbirds, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~297 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

specimen

Native states

AL, AR, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV