When most people think of a willow tree, a vivid image of grace and elegance often comes to mind.The willow is renowned for its distinct featu
06.06.2023 - 17:31 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren
How to Grow and Care for Maple Trees Acer spp.A lazy day under the shade of a leafy tree. Digging into a big plate of pancakes covered in syrup. An elegant, bright red focal point in a shady garden. Maples give us so much.
While the Japanese species take a lot of the limelight, the hardworking red, silver, sugar, big leaf, and paperbark maples are humbly offering up their vibrant foliage and sweet sap to practically anyone in a temperate climate.
There’s a lot of diversity in the Acer genus, which means no matter your decorative garden needs, there’s probably a tree in the maple world that fits the bill.
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It’s hard not to love this group of plants. They’re adaptable, sturdy, long-living, and give you a big bang for your buck. I mean, what would fall be without those neon red leaves?
To help you understand the many options and figure out which will work best for you, we’re going to discuss the following:
Many are much quicker, but some maples take up to 30 years to mature – so we don’t have any time to waste! Let’s dive right in.
What Are Maples?This might sound like a silly question, but everyone pictures something different when they imagine a maple.
Some people see pretty silver trees and others imagine the kind you tap for syrup. Some conjure up an image of a lacy Japanese bonsai or the quintessential red palm-like leaf.
Maples are trees and shrubs in the Acer genus. Japanese maples fall under this category, and we have a guide to help you understand how to raise and care for them if you want details specific to those species.
In this guide, we’ll focus on the genus more broadly.
In addition to the Japanese species
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