
How to grow sugar maple
Acer saccharum
When to plant sugar maple
Plant this tree while dormant, in fall or early spring. Extension guidance rates fall, after leaf drop, and early spring, before bud break, as the best windows; balled-and-burlapped or bare-root stock goes in during dormancy so roots establish before top growth resumes.
Sugar Maple is timed by season rather than your frost dates, so the planting calendar does not generate ZIP-specific dates for it. Check the cited sources below to fine-tune for your area.
Growing conditions
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Spacing
- 360 to 720 in apart
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 5 to 8
Common problems
- leaf scorch in drought
- verticillium wilt
- salt and compaction stress
- intolerant of urban heat
Sources
- North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (NC State Extension): Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple / Northern Sugar Maple)
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center: Planting Trees Correctly (HGIC 1001)
Last updated .