page_title: Acer saccharum
section_title: Urban planting
hierarchical_section_title: Acer saccharum / Cultivation and uses / Urban planting
caption_attribution_description: English: Sugar Maple during autumn along Patton Drive in Ewing, New Jersey
context_page_description: Acer saccharum, the sugar maple or rock maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada, from Nova Scotia west through southern Quebec, central and southern Ontario to southeastern Manitoba around Lake of the Woods, and the northern parts of the central and northeastern United States, from Minnesota eastward to Massachusetts. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage.
context_section_description: Sugar maple was a favorite street and park tree during the 19th century because it was easy to propagate and transplant, is fairly fast-growing, and has beautiful fall color. As noted above, however, it proved too delicate to continue in that role after the rise of automobile-induced pollution and was replaced by Norway maple and other hardier species. The shade and the shallow, fibrous roots may interfere with grass growing under the trees. Deep, well-drained loam is the best rooting medium, although sugar maples can grow well on sandy soil which has a good buildup of humus. Light (or loose) clay soils are also well known to support sugar maple growth. Poorly drained areas are unsuitable, and the species is especially short-lived on flood-prone clay flats. Its salt tolerance is low and it is very sensitive to boron. The species is also subject to defoliation when there are dense populations of larvae of Lepidoptera species like the rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda).
caption: Sugar maple in a suburban landscape
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