Maples Uncovered

Garden Clippings for July 12, 2025

Mine is quite likely the only Eskimo Sunset Maple in Lambton County. Ben bought it for me when he was a teenager and planted it on the South side of our former house on Brigden Road. It didn’t thrive.

Five years ago, we uprooted the Eskimo Sunset and moved it to our current home and nestled it between the mature White Pine and the neighbour’s row of old Norway Spruce. It is now loving life, enjoying the sandy soil and morning sun.

Eskimo Sunset Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus “Esk Sunset”) originated from New Zealand and grows comfortably on Canada’s warmer West Coast. Its large leaves marked with green and pink in spring, turning cream-coloured in summer, add striking interest especially when contrasted with adjacent green foliage.

Maples, Canada’s most recognized tree, are easily identified by their familiar 3 or 5 pointed lobes. There are about 125 species of Maples, of which 10 can be found growing naturally in Canada. Within the species are hundreds or perhaps thousands of cultivars.

For us Canadians, the Sugar Maple is our darling. We love Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum) in spring for its sweet syrup, and in fall for its outstanding colour.

We have less affection for Silver Maple (Acer Saccharinum) because it becomes too big, too quickly. Sugar Maples are hardly suitable for urban conditions because its wood is not strong, and its aggressive roots heave concrete driveways and clog drainage tiles. Manitoba Maple (Acer Negundo) is known to be equally problematic and has a tendency to grow wherever you don’t want it to grow.

Freeman Maple (Acer x freemanii) is a naturally occurring hybrid Maple resulting from the marriage of Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) and Silver Maple. Freeman Maple takes the positive attributes of both parents and is considered a very desirable tree for urban environments. Freeman Maple has given rise to several cultivars such as ‘Autumn Blaze’ and ‘Armstrong’ which have been chosen for their desirable traits such as improved fall colour, tolerance to drought or flooding, hardiness or growth rate.

Most Maple trees grow tall and can eventually grow to 40 metres or more. The fruit or seed of Maple are samaras, which behave like helicopters, designed to disperse by wind to fall on open ground away from the shade of the parents. Maple seeds are a valuable food source for wildlife.

The most diverse group of Maples are Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum). These Maples are strictly ornamental, and are prized for their small size, brilliant colour and interesting form. ‘Bloodgood’ is the standard bearer with bright red colour that slowly becomes darker as the season progresses. ‘Inabe Shidare’ has similar colour, with branches that arc rather than grow upright. For a weeping form in bright green, look for a Weeping ‘viridis’.

Although there are exceptions, Japanese Maples have fine textured leaves that turn bright coloured in fall. They like rich, well-drained soil and will not tolerate soil that is heavy or waterlogged. Japanese Maples prefer to grow in a location with full sun or partial shade.