The Sugar Maple: November’s Featured Plant

That chill in the air means only one thing; fall has come to Georgia. The leaves are showing off their brilliance with their changing colors of yellow, red, orange, and brown. With fall officially underway, Great Estates Landscaping wanted to feature a tree that encapsulates all the magnificence of the changing leaves. Our first choice? The Sugar Maple tree, our featured plant for the month of November.

Acer Saccharum, colloquially known as the Sugar Maple, is a native to the hardwood forests of Eastern Canada. The sugar maple is a deciduous tree, meaning its leaves change colors and then eventually fall off during the winter months. The leaves of the sugar maple are incredibly vibrant, even in the fall. Its leaves can change into a plethora of colors, from deep brown, crimson red, canary yellow, and flaming orange hues. It’s also an extremely healthy grower, with the tallest sugar maple being upwards of 145ft. Most, however, grow to about 15 to 16ft. tall. The sugar maple can also grow and remain healthy for 400 years! It’s extremely hearty and has incredible shade tolerance. So, you can plant your sugar maples in hard to cultivate areas where sunlight doesn’t always shine.

This tree does prefer cooler climates, but due to its excellent health, sugar maples can be planted in almost any climate. And, the sugar maple isn’t just for decoration. They can also be used in harvesting sap to make delicious maple syrup. In maple syrup production from Acer saccharum, the sap is extracted from the trees using a tap placed into a hole drilled through the phloem, just inside the bark. The collected sap is then boiled. As the sap boils, the water is evaporated off and the syrup left behind.

Ready to plant your very own sugar maple? Call the experts at Great Estates Landscaping before you do. We can find the perfect spot for your tree or trees and help you with tree care and maintenance. While we can’t guarantee you’ll have maple syrup, we can guarantee that your sugar maple will be the healthiest and most vibrant tree on your property. Call us today and have us plant your very own Sugar Maple tree, our Featured Plant for the month of November.