In dense shade it grows tall and slender. It is long-lived. The colors range from yellow to orange and red. The attractive pale yellow flowers appear before leaves emerge in the spring. The winged fruit mature in the fall, providing food for birds and squirrels.
Sugar maple is an excellent shade and lawn tree.
The dense canopy creates heavy shade, preventing turf from growing under the canopy unless lower limbs are removed. It does not thrive in crowded or polluted areas. Ideal soil for sugar maple is fertile, moist, slightly acidic and well-drained. It thrives in both sun and shade. Roots of sugar maples are often shallow.