Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Hard Maple, Rock Maple

Description:

The hardiest variety of sugar maple, specially selected for northern landscapes; features a shapely habit and good fall coloration ranging from yellow and gold to orange; adaptable to soils, but dislikes air pollution and compacted soils

Ornamental Features

Unity Sugar Maple has rich green deciduous foliage on a tree with an oval habit of growth. The lobed leaves turn outstanding shades of yellow, orange and red in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Unity Sugar Maple is a deciduous tree with a shapely oval form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Unity Sugar Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Unity Sugar Maple will grow to be about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 30 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 7 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. As it matures, the lower branches of this tree can be strategically removed to create a high enough canopy to support unobstructed human traffic underneath. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.