Acer saccharinum
Silver Maple, Soft, White, Water Maple
Mature Size, Growth, Longevity
Average mature size of 50-70' tall and 30-50' wide. Fast growth rate.
Native Range
Quebec to Florida to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Flower and Fruit Details
Flowers are monoecious, greenish-yellow to red, with no petals, borne in dense clusters, in early to mid-March. Fruits are winged samaras, 1.33-2.33" long (one of the largest in the maple family), with the wings held at an 80° angle, maturing in late May to June.
Leaf and Bark Features
Fall color can be a green and yellow-brown combination. Bark is gray or gray-brown, becoming ridged and scaly with age.
Culture and Care
Tolerant of wide variety of soils, but reaches maximum size in moist, slightly acidic soil. Vigorous root system will cause sidewalks to buckle and drain tiles to clog due. Will survive in sites where few others will. Susceptible to typical maple diseases: anthracnose, verticillium wilt, bacterial leaf spot, bleeding cankar, forest tent caterpillar, maple leaf cutter, leafhopper, bladder-gall mite, boxelder bug, among others.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts
One of the most overplanted trees in the American landscape, often has a poor branch structure that needs corrective pruning to remove overcrowded, narrow-angle branches. Its roots can damage sidewalks, septic fields, and cracked sewer lines.