# Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

> Red maple, Acer rubrum: a large tree of 40 to 90 feet for zones 2 to 9, 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/red-maple/

![A red maple crown in brilliant orange and scarlet fall color seen from below against a blue sky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/red-maple-1000.jpg?v=39afbec5 "A red maple in fall color in Ewing Township, New Jersey, on October 24, 2024. It is one of the first trees to flower in spring, from March to May.")
*Photo: Famartin, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A2024-10-24_14_13_49_Autumn_view_of_a_Red_Maple_along_Aquetong_Lane_in_the_Mountainview_section_of_Ewing_Township%2C_Mercer_County%2C_New_Jersey.jpg))*

Large tree, 40 to 90 feet, zones 2 to 9; full sun, part shade or shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow red maple, 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 | Red Maple |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Swamp maple, scarlet maple, Carolina red maple, Drummond red maple, Carolina maple, Canadian maple |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 90 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 2 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Showy flowers, fall color, wildlife value, honey tree, edible, bears young, hedge or screen, winter interest, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Samaras, April to July |
| First crop | 4 years |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Some red maples carry only male flowers and bear no seed, some only female, and some both, so plant several if you want seed. |
| Lifespan | Can live 310 years, and the oldest dated one reached 300. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on red maple marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list |
| Toxicity | The leaves, wilted or dried ones most of all, and the bark are poisonous to horses and cattle, but not to dogs and cats. |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, dry uplands, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 33 states and the District of Columbia |

Red maple is native in 33 states and the District of Columbia: [Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [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), [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), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [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), [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 York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [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), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [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) 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 [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR), 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=red-maple): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=red-maple): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=red-maple&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=red-maple): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=red-maple): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=red-maple): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=red-maple): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=red-maple: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=red-maple): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=red-maple): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=red-maple): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, swamps and wet flats 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.
- [Black Gum (Tupelo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md) (*Nyssa sylvatica*): large tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, dry uplands, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Swamp Laurel Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-laurel-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus laurifolia*): large tree, 40 to 80 feet, zones 6 to 10. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, swamps and wet flats 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.
- [Spruce Pine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/spruce-pine/index.html.md) (*Pinus glabra*): large tree, 40 to 80 feet, zones 7 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Every companion of red maple in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=red-maple)

## 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, UF/IFAS Extension, the US Forest Service, the Eastern Native Tree Society, Virginia Tech's dendrology site, the ASPCA and the Merck Veterinary Manual.