Silver maple is a long-liver. Beautiful fast-growing trees can live up to 130-150 years. This majestic tree has a different name - sugar maple (sugar).
Silver Maple Habitat
The natural habitat of this tree is the eastern lands of North America and the neighboring expanses of Canada. The silver maple tree prefers to grow in moist lowlands, along river and lake coasts with rich soils. Occasionally, individual specimens are found on higher ground. Trees climb to a height of 30-600 meters. In arid corners they grow only near the water.
Sugar Maple Height
Sugar maple is growing fast. The height of the tree ranges from 27-40 meters. Each year, each tree is able to add about fifty centimeters in height, and about forty in width.
Biological description of a tree
Cylindrical or rounded in shape and wide and sparse crown formed by drooping branches. Branches at the beginning of the development of trees rush down, and then, going up, beautifully bend in an arc shape.
The branches are equipped with V-shaped leaf scars (red maple has exactly the same). True, the branches of silver maple are more durable, often painted dark brown, and when broken they emit an unpleasant odor. In young trees, the branches are bright red, and in mature specimens, they are silver-gray.
The length of opposite five-lobed green leaves deep below, bluish-silver below, is 8-16 cm, and 6-12 cm wide. In autumn, foliage blazes with yellow-gold and orange colors.
Young specimens are covered with smoky-gray smooth bark. As the trees grow, the bark darkens, it is covered with long, narrow, flaky scales. Silver maple has a core root system. The lateral roots, branching, form the surface fibrous system.
Silver maple trunk
A short trunk of a tree (maple), covered with silver bark, reaches one and a half meters in girth. The crown is formed on the trunk, divided into several powerful base branches. Large branches from all sides are humbled by drooping shoots.
Flowering and fruiting
The plant is endowed with red-brown buds that cover large scales. Flower buds, as a rule, gather in noticeable clusters. Flowering in trees begins in mid-spring, before the leaves bloom. The flowers are endowed with a greenish red color. During flowering, the movement of sugary juice suitable for cooking begins.
Lionfish - this is what the silver maple fruit is called. The fruit of the tree is collected from two identical wings in which the seeds are hidden. The length of the pairwise connected wings is 3-7 cm, and the width is 12 mm. The ripening time of crescent lionfish is late spring.
For the germination of seeds, sugar maple needs high humidity. In dry times, they lose their germination. Fruits that fall into moist soil sprout immediately. Sprouts can appear during the day. The best germination is possessed by seeds that fell into moist soil after rain.
The seeds of this plant are heavy. A pair of wings interconnected among themselves helps them move in space (the answer to the question “what is the name of the maple fruit” becomes obvious). A significant role in the distribution of lionfish is played by water flows that facilitate their movement over long distances.
Growing silver maple
Silver maple grows well in fertile areas with good drainage. He needs a well-lit place with well-moistened fine-textured soil. On fairly moist ground, trees easily take root. They have moderate tolerance to saline soils. Due to the ability to exist in wet places, the plant can easily withstand prolonged floods. It dominates the forests, competing with poplar, beech and ash.
Mature trees are resistant to severe winter frosts. Young shoots in severe frosts sometimes freeze. Trees are not able to withstand the onslaught of powerful winds and excessive snowfalls. Their fragile branches break under the influence of adverse natural phenomena.
Sugar maple easily withstands adverse environmental conditions. He is not afraid of the smoke and gas contamination of the air masses. It is suitable for organizing garden and park complexes in cities. Sugar maple trees infect some pests. They suffer from leaf weevil, whiteflies and mealybugs.
Maple decorative
Silver maple has several varieties. It is diverse, tripartite and pyramidal. In addition, there is a weeping form and variety of Viera. Trees differ in the form of leaves and branches.
The pyramidal maple does not exceed a height of 20 meters. Vertical branches form a columnar wide crown. Autumn foliage burns dark red. Maple Vieri has a spreading crown covered with greenish-silver leaves. Its fragile branches have increased fragility. Grace Bornes Graziosa endowed with a light crown, humbled by huge rugged leaves. The height of the trees does not exceed 15 meters.
