Yellow Buckeye
Aesculus flava Large tree Zones 3–8 50–75 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, the Appalachians, floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum. Large tree, 40 to 121 feet, zones 3 to 8; full sun, part shade or shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow sugar 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
| Other names | Northern sugar maple, sugartree |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 121 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 60 |
| Zones | 3 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, honey tree, winter interest |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Samaras, September to December |
| First crop | 22 to 40 years (the earliest at 22, most trees by 40; full crops after about 60) |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Most sugar maples carry only male or only female flowers, while some carry both, and a tree sheds its pollen before or after its own female flowers open, so plant several if you want seed. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 500 years, and the oldest dated one reached 330. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on sugar maple marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Planting season | Spring. Silvics adds that fall plantings have been highly successful in Vermont. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list |
| Ground | Rich moist slopes, the Appalachians, floodplain forests and stream banks |
| Native in | 32 states |
Sugar maple is native in 32 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 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 Louisiana, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of sugar maple's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Black Maple
Acer nigrum Large tree Zones 3–8 60–75 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia Large tree Zones 3–9 50–80 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, the Appalachians and floodplain forests in the wild.
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis Large tree Zones 3–7 40–100 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, the Appalachians and stream banks in the wild.
September Elm
Ulmus serotina Large tree Zones 4–8 60–70 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
Bitternut Hickory
Carya cordiformis Large tree Zones 4–9 50–80 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
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, Virginia Tech's dendrology site and UF/IFAS Extension.