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Planting Maples in the Landscape

A home for your young maples should be prepared prior to their arrival if you wish to put them directly into the landscape. A spot that is out of sweeping wind and hot sun is best. Most cultivars benefit from full morning sun and appreciate some afternoon shade. The North or East side of a house or fence is ideal in most situations, since it affords some wind protection and also blocks the afternoon heat. The intermittent shade of large trees is also an excellent placement for hot areas; full sun is appropriate only in cooler areas.

Maples must have good drainage. If your soil is heavy, it should be amended with gypsum, bark, or other material to improve drainage, and the soil mounded up above grade at least 3 to 6 inches. This will insure that the crown of the tree will not be in soggy soil. The crown (where the roots and the trunk of the tree meet) should never be below grade. Maples are very adaptable to soil types, so if the drainage is good, the addition of compost for nutrients and tilth is all that is needed.

Frequent, regular watering will get your maple off to a great start. Maples do quite well with regular lawn watering and an occasional deep watering during extended dry times. The University of California did a study indicating that frequent watering in the first year of transplant is the single most effective thing you can do to increase your chance of success in new landscape plantings. The water seems to help the roots find their way into the soil and establishes your planting. Maples are not deep-rooted trees, so please remember to water even older trees regularly, and over the entire area covered by the roots, usually the drip-line. Mini-sprinklers do a great job and your lawn watering system is perfect.

A good mulch of 3 or so inches of bark or leaves over the soil will help keep the soil temperature moderated and conserve moisture. Be sure to pull the mulch away from the trunk slightly to prevent crown rot and insect damage, especially in the South. Winter mulching is essential in Zones 4 & 5 where the ground freezes and heaving can be a problem; summer mulching in the South will keep the roots cool.