Sugar maple, aka Canadian, is very decorative and has long adorned landscape gardens in Western Europe. Today, the variety of deciduous trees, owing its name to the sweet juice that stands out in the spring, can be found in squares, gardens and the middle strip.
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Botanical Description of Varieties
Powerful trees up to 40 meters high, representing a typical variety, are distinguished by a dense crown, which is formed by thin branches with a red bark. Long leaves with slightly serrated edges are opposite on the shoots. The highest degree of decorativeness of Canadian maple falls in autumn, when the leaves acquire bright autumn tones of yellow and crimson colors. In spring, species trees bloom in greenish-yellow flowers collected in a brush. After pollination at the site of inflorescences, the characteristic fruits of the maple, lionfish, are formed.
In a typical variety, 2 subspecies are distinguished:
- Maple red. Distinctive and very decorative are leaves that have a red color, acquiring an even more intense shade by autumn. Compared to species maples, plants of this form are less capricious regarding the fertility of the soil layer.
- Silver maple. Representatives of the form are also distinguished by the color of the sheet plates, the reverse side of which has a silver tint. Thanks to the elliptical crown, the maple trees of this subspecies have long won the love of European landscape designers, who often use them in the design of park ensembles.
Where does sugar maple grow
The natural zone of growth of the ornamental tree is Canada.Over time, the range has spread to the entire mainland. Over time, a spectacular culture was introduced into the Old World and occupied vast territories of the European part of the continent and even partially Asian.
Planting maple in the open ground
In order for maple seedlings to quickly take root and turn into chic trees with a spreading and dense crown, it is necessary to choose the right place and soil, determine the optimal planting time and follow the step-by-step instructions for planting planting material in open ground.
- A place. Sugar maple develops well in sunny or slightly shaded areas, protected from the wind.
- The soil. The soil in the selected area for planting maple seedlings should have a good fertile layer, loose structure and be drained.
- Dates. The optimal time for planting sugar maple in the garden is considered to be the early spring period.
- Planting material. For planting, annual seedlings are used, which have the greatest survival rate and were grown before planting in the garden in containers with the corresponding soil mixture.
- Technology. A hole of 50x50 cm is being prepared, the dimensions of which can be increased due to poverty of the soil to place a larger amount of fertile substrate from peat, compost and sand. A drainage is placed on which a seedling is set with spread roots. After filling the pit with the soil mixture, the near-trunk area is compacted and moistened with 15 l of water.
Agrotechnics of cultivation and care
When growing Canadian maple, basic agrotechnical requirements must be observed that guarantee the preservation of decorative qualities for a long time.
- Watering. The variety refers to hygrophilous plants, requiring at a young age systematic watering throughout the growing season. With age, the frequency of humidification can be reduced, with the exception of long dry periods.
- Soil treatment. With the advent of spring, the trunk circle should be mulched using peat, which also maintains the necessary level of fertility. After humidification or natural precipitation, the soil under the tree loosens slightly, which improves its aeration and water permeability.
- Fertilizing and fertilizing. Planting in fertile soil makes it possible for the plant to develop well without additional fertilizing for 2 years. After the woody culture reaches the age of three years, top dressing is carried out in the spring with the help of organics, which contains nitrogen in free form, and in the summer and autumn phosphorus-potassium agrochemicals are introduced into the near-stem circle.
- Protection against pests and diseases. Despite the resistance of the maple to harmful organisms, the tree can be affected by coral spotting. If, upon examination of the plant, the manifestations of the disease were recorded, then the diseased parts of the shoots should be immediately removed, and the places of the cuts should be treated with an antiseptic in the form of a garden var. Also, insects can sometimes be noted, which can be dealt with by treating the crown with an insecticidal preparation.
Cropping and shaping the crown
Formative pruning, thanks to which the gardener can create a beautiful dense crown, is carried out before the buds swell. At the same time, sick and growing inward branches are removed for sanitary purposes, and 40% of last year’s growth is cut off to stimulate the development of new shoots.
Wintering Canadian Maple
Canadian maple is frost-resistant and can withstand frosts of -40 ° C.
However, immature plants should be covered by wrapping the stems with burlap and protecting the roots from freezing with the help of fir spruce branches.
Areas of use
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is used in various fields:
- Production of furniture elements and a number of building materials. Since maple wood has strength, resistance to mechanical stress and high density, it is often used in the manufacture of furniture, parquet and other decorative elements.
- CookingMaple syrup is extracted from the tree culture by collecting and processing very sweet juice.
- Decorative gardening. The density of the crown, the variety of leaf colors are appreciated by landscape designers who widely use Canadian maple for landscaping parks and squares.
Sugar maple is a wonderful decorative tree, which will become a bright decoration of a personal plot for many years.
