Maple trees provide some of the most reliable, vivid fall color of any shade tree, their broad canopies turning entire neighborhoods gold, orange, and crimson every autumn.
Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, maples include the sugar maple prized for maple syrup production, along with fast-growing red and silver maples commonly planted as shade trees for their dependable canopy and dramatic seasonal color change.
Maple wants full sun and adaptable, well-draining soil, and most varieties grow into large trees, so plan for their eventual size well away from foundations, sidewalks, and underground utility lines. Fast-growing species like silver maple are more prone to storm damage than slower, denser-wooded sugar maple.
Sugar maple sap can only be tapped for syrup during a narrow window each late winter, when nighttime temperatures drop below freezing but daytime temperatures rise above it.
