Outstanding Features:
Excellent fall color and attractive form.

Description:
Height: 40-70'
Width: 30-50'
Hardiness Zone: 3b

Sugar Maple has a dense, upright oval to rounded crown. The lobed medium green leaves develop outstanding fall color ranging from clear yellow to golden orange to orangish red. Sugar Maple makes an excellent specimen or shade tree in sites with ample root and crown space. It is native from Minnesota eastward, with a few outlying populations in eastern South Dakota. Sugar Maple sap is collected in late winter and boiled down to make maple syrup.

Requirements and Culture:
Requires a fertile, well drained soil and ample moisture. Full sun or partial shade. Performs poorly in compacted soil with limited root space.

Limitations:
Verticillum wilt can become a problem, especially when grown in heavy, poorly drained soils. Often develops leaf scorch when conditions are too dry. Susceptible to sun scald injury on trunk. Sugar Maple casts a dense shade, making it difficult to maintain turf underneath the crown. Intolerant of salt.

Selected Cultivars:

`Bonfire' - grows vigorously and has an oval crown and somewhat irregular branching habit. Fall color inferior to other cultivars in the upper midwest.

`Flax Mill Majesty' - is a new cultivar that has not been thoroughly tested for adaptation in the upper midwest, but it looks promising. It has an excellent symmetrical form with a broad oval crown. Leaves are dark green.

`Green Mountain' - is a vigorous growing cultivar. Has an oval crown. Red-orange fall color.

`Legacy' - has a dense crown with thick, dark green leaves. Red or orange fall color. Not thoroughly tested for winter hardiness in more northern areas.

`Sweet Shadow' - has an oval to vase shaped crown. Foliage is deeply cut, giving a lacy appearance. Develops an attractive golden-orange fall color.

Photo Credit: 1 MLA; 2 Bailey Nurseries, Inc. Photo 2 is `Sweet Shadow'.

Minnesota Power | University of Minnesota | Northern States Power Company

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