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Red Maple

A large maple with a rounded, compact crown and upward reaching branches. Native Newfoundland to Florida, west to Minnesota, Iowa, Okalahoma, and Texas. Many named cultivars give red fall color, seedlings may be less reliable. It has red twigs, branchlets, and buds, which gives it the name Red maple. It grows fairly fast.

Scientific Name:

Acer rubrum

Mature Height:

40' - 60'

Mature Spread:

30'-50'

Leaves:

2.5" to 4" long and nearly as wide, three lobed. Bright green above, paler beneath. Fall color varies between gold to orange and red.

Flowers:

Small but conspicuous red flowers before leaves open in the spring. Often have male and female flowers on separate trees

Fruit:

Dull red v shaped winged seeds on female trees, persisting through winter.

Root System:

No large surface roots.

Growth Rate:

Moderate to fast.

Cultural Notes:

Adaptable to many soils, tolerates moisture and alkalinity. May attract aphids.

Sacramento Specimen:

A large specimen can be seen on Oak Avenue, just before California Ave., on the north side of the street in Carmichael. Some smaller specimens can be seen opposite 87 Scripps Drive, CSUS, west of cafeteria.

Minimum Planting Distances

• from SMUD pad mounted equipment (such as a transformer mounted on a concrete pad): 8 feet
• from a building foundation: 15 feet
• from walks and driveways: 8 feet
• from an air conditioner: 8 feet
• from a fence: 6 feet
• from a utility offset (such as an underground line, pipe or cable): 6 feet
• from a utility overhead (such as an overhead power line): 30 feet
• from a swimming pool: 15 feet
• from a septic system: 15 feet
• between trees*: 25 feet

* To calculate the planting distance between different size trees, add the distances between each species in the column and divide answer in half. Example: the distance between a Red Maple (large tree) and Amur Maple (small tree) is calculated: 25 feet + 15 feet = 40 feet ÷ 2 = 20 feet. The distance between these two different size trees should be 20 feet.