# Boxelder (Acer negundo)

> Boxelder, Acer negundo: a medium tree of 30 to 75 feet for zones 2 to 10, how fast it grows, where it grows wild, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/boxelder/

![Boxelder branch with three-part leaves and hanging clusters of dry, papery samaras in autumn light](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/boxelder-1000.jpg?v=94c66c96 "Boxelder leaves and samaras in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, on November 5, 2016. The wind carries its seed off the tree from fall until spring.")
*Photo: Katja Schulz, [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAcer_negundo_(22749027308).jpg))*

Medium tree, 30 to 75 feet, zones 2 to 10; full sun, part shade or shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow boxelder, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Boxelder |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Ash-leaved maple, ashleaf maple, Manitoba maple, boxelder maple, three-leaf maple |
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 75 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 2 to 10 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Wildlife value, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Samaras, August to March |
| First crop | 8 to 11 years |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees, so a female tree bears seed only with a male nearby. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 100 years. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on boxelder marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list |
| Toxicity | The seeds are poisonous to horses. |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands |
| Native in | 44 states and the District of Columbia |

Boxelder is native in 44 states and the District of Columbia: [Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arizona](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AZ), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Colorado](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CO), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Minnesota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MN), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE), [Nevada](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NV), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New Mexico](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NM), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [North Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ND), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [South Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SD), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Utah](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=UT), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI), [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI) and [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA), where it is naturalized, not native.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=boxelder&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=boxelder): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=boxelder:5): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=boxelder): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus rubra*): medium tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Western Soapberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/western-soapberry/index.html.md) (*Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii*): medium tree, 20 to 50 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Winged Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/winged-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus alata*): medium tree, 40 to 60 feet, zones 6 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis occidentalis*): large tree, 40 to 60 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Cedar Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/cedar-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus crassifolia*): large tree, 50 to 70 feet, zones 6 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Shumard Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/shumard-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus shumardii*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Every companion of boxelder in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=boxelder)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service, the Merck Veterinary Manual and Cornell University.