Digging deeperPlant Library

Bigtooth Maple

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Other Names:  Canyon Maple, Wasach Maple, Western Sugar Maple

Description:

This is a very hardy variety which thrives well in dry conditions and urban pollution; a strong upright growth habit with a showy display of red and orange in the fall; a great landscape or street tree

Ornamental Features

Bigtooth Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its ornamental upright and spreading habit of growth. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The glossy lobed leaves turn outstanding shades of orange and red in the fall. The furrowed gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Bigtooth Maple is a deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. 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.

Bigtooth Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Bigtooth Maple will grow to be about 25 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 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 medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is native to parts of North America.