Red maple ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Acer rubrum
• Family: Soapberry family (Sapindaceae)
• Origin: North America,
• Growth type: deciduous tree
• Growth height: 10 m to 15 m
• Growth form: conical
• Leaf: 5-lobed
• Flower: roundish, inconspicuous
• Fruit: winged nut fruit
• Roots: Shallow roots
• Hardiness: hardy
• Use: solitary, house tree, climate tree

growth

The central distribution area of red maple extends from eastern North America to Canada. In this huge home area, Acer rubrum shapes the landscape with its striking growth:

• growth habit: single-stemmed tree with a conical, loose or high-oval crown, elegantly overhanging when old.
• growth height: 10m to 15m
• growth width: 7m to 10m
• special feature: dense foliage of palmate leaves with spectacular fall colors.
• bark: twigs greenish-brown at first, later shiny reddish brown.
• tribe: initially smooth, grey-brown to light gray bark, later thick, longitudinally fissured bark.
• growth rate: 15 cm to 40 cm annual growth.

Red maple forms a shallow root system. Most of the roots rarely go deeper than 25 cm to 30 cm. Lateral root strands are 10 m to 25 m long.

Sheet

The foliage of the red maple consists of numerous, comparatively small leaves. A red maple leaf can be recognized by these characteristics:

• leaf shape: stalked, 5-lobed (3 large forward lobes, 2 weak lobes below).
• special feature: red petiole, hairy veins on underside, leaf margin serrated.
• sheet size: diameter of leaf blade up to 10 cm.
• leaf sprouting: bronze red
• leaf color: dark green above, light green below, sometimes with a bluish tinge.
• sheet property: bright yellow-orange-red autumn colour.
• arrangement: opposite

In autumn, the red maple stages a colorful Indian summer with active support from the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in the mixed forests from North America to Canada. Since the tree, which is well worth seeing, has been planted more and more frequently in Central European gardens and parks, red maple has become an important player in the Indian summer developed.

Intoxicated by colors - Indian Summer invites you to dream

blossom

A red maple tree unfolds its flowers before the leaves sprout. These flower characteristics tell you that you have a red maple in front of you:

• inflorescence: rounded to globular, in dense clusters.
• flower color: red
• special feature: Stamens stand out remarkably far.
• heyday: March and April

The picturesque blossoms give off a sweet honey scent to attract wild bees, bumblebees and to attract butterflies as pollinators. With a pollen count of 3 to 4, red maple serves as an important spring pollen bee pasture and protein-rich food source for building bee colonies. The nectar value ranges from 1 to 2 on a low level.

digression

Red maple - red maple - differences

Plant red maple

A red maple tree is ideally planted in the fall. This planting date is advantageous for the frost-hardy wood, because it starts the next vegetation period with a veritable growth advantage. You can also buy the best young red maple plants in tree nurseries and garden centers from mid-August. A second window for planting and purchasing Acer rubrum will open in the spring, once the spade gets into the ground. You can read important tips for successful planting here:

Buy red maple

In the tree nursery you can buy red maple as an inexpensive heister whose trunk has no crown and numerous side shoots. Solitary plants with wire balls are multi-stemmed, transplanted and cut several times, which is reflected in a higher purchase price. Luxury version is red maple than standard, on whose 2 m high trunk a beautiful crown is already enthroned. The growth height and possibly the trunk diameter also have an influence on the purchase price. The following table should serve as a guide for your purchase decision:

Well-stocked tree nurseries offer Acer rubrum as a stem bush. According to the natural growth form, the tree nursery master has trained the wood either with a continuous leader or with multiple trunks. A red maple tree trunk transplanted three times with a trunk diameter of 16 cm and a wire ball costs from 660 euros.

location and soil

Because red maple tolerates almost any location, it is highly valued as a climate tree. The hardy wood can cope with shimmering heat, desert-like drought and even floods without serious injuries. These are the optimal framework conditions for an Acer rubrum in top form:

• Sunny location (the more hours of sunshine a day, the more magnificent the flowering period and autumn colors).
• Exclusion criteria: shade, wind-exposed location.
• normal garden floor, preferably nutritious, fresh, well-drained, slightly acidic to neutral.
• Exclusion criteria Soil: permanent waterlogging, calcareous soil, alkaline pH greater than 8.0.

planting tips

Drought stress and windthrow are the most common causes of a red maple not growing. It's worth taking a look at these planting tips:

• The planting pit has twice the volume of the root ball.
• Of the excavation is enriched with leaf compost or peat soil in a ratio of 3:1.
• The planting depth in the bed corresponds to the planting depth in the tree nursery (note the dark soil mark on the trunk or central shoot).
• Remove the container or seed pot before planting, only open the root ball in the planting hole.
• After planting, hammer in 3 wooden posts as tripods and tie them to the trunk with coconut cords.
• Form a casting ring out of soil and cover the root disk with mud.
• tree disc thin (2-3 cm) mulch with leaves or grass clippings.

Planting is recommended rhizome lock. The epic long, shallow roots can lift pavement slabs and become a tripping hazard on unpaved surfaces.

Cultivate red maple

Red maple is undemanding and easy to care for. The water and nutrient supply is easy to manage. Pruning sometimes causes headaches, because every maple tree is sensitive to pruning. You can find out how to properly care for Acer rubrum here:

Pour

Freshly planted, a red maple wants to be watered regularly. In the following years there is only a need for watering when the soil has dried more than 5 cm deep. Please use what you have collected for watering rainwater or stagnant tap water.

Fertilize

A start fertilization in the spring goes down well with the red maple. sprinkle compost soil and horn shavings(€9.00 at Amazon*) on the root disk. For once, do not rake in the manure, so as not to injure the shallow roots. Instead, simply shower the organic matter with water for optimal nutrient uptake.

To cut

Red maple reacts to every pruning measure with a strong sap flow. To make matters worse, maple trees from old wood sprout hesitantly or not at all. Against this background, pruning is only part of the care program if necessary. Important notes on timing and incision in brief:

1. Prune red maple in the fall after leaf fall.
2. Put on gloves to protect yourself from the sticky sap.
3. Dead wood, diseased and unfavorable branches astring thin out.
4. Cut back overly long branches in the one-year-old wood section.

A pruning is obligatory if you have red maple transplant. Within the first five years, the tree tolerates a change of location. This is on the condition that you shorten all shoots by a third to compensate for the loss of root mass.

Popular Varieties

The origin species red maple inspired competent breeders to these beautiful varieties:

• October Glory: Premium cultivar with a broad conical crown and spectacular bright orange-scarlet autumn colors.
• brandywine: impresses with dark red flowers, light green leaves and wine-red coloring in autumn.
• Acer rubrum 'Red Sunset': grafted variety with a rounded, ovate crown, grows to a height of 10-15 m and a spread of 7-10 cm.
• Acer rubrum 'Armstrong': columnar, narrow-crowned red maple, 5-lobed leaves with bright orange-red autumn colours.
• Acer rubrum 'Scanlon': Small tree with a slender growth habit and a conical crown, grows to a height of 12 m and a spread of 4 m.

FAQ

Which maple thrives with red leaves in the fall?

Red maple (Acer rubrum) is one of the most beautiful maple species with red leaves in autumn. From late summer, the dark green leaves undergo the transformation to red-orange autumn colour. Because not all leaves change color at the same time, the tree inspires with a breathtaking play of colors in iridescent nuances. The grafted Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Crimson Sentry') shines with red, later crimson-black-red leaves from the time they sprout in spring until the leaves fall in autumn.

Which maple is also called Canadian maple tree?

In the nursery you can buy two types of maple under the name of Canadian maple tree. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is the most well-known red maple with this middle name. Its leaf is found again in the national flag of Canada. Red maple (Acer rubrum) is rarely offered under this synonym. Therefore, when buying a Canadian maple tree, please pay attention to the botanical name. Sugar maple is a 600 cm tall shrub, while red maple grows as a 15 m tall tree.

Can you keep red maple in a bucket?

In view of an expected growth height of 10 m to 15 m, growing red maple in tubs is difficult. With an annual increase of up to 40 cm, a plant pot has to grow with it, so to speak. Every three to five years, the wood should be repotted into a bucket that is twice as large. This measure becomes a sweat-inducing feat over the years. Due to the sensitivity to cutting, it is a tricky undertaking to keep the maple tree at a height suitable for tubs by pruning it annually.