Trees with Don Leopold - silver maple

[@jimsmith77901]

One my favorite trees. Back around 1973, our only tree in my parents yard was toppled by a freak windstorm, and i, as a 12 year old tree lover, was devastated. It was my tree, planted to shade my bedroom, and in seconds it was gone. A neighbor across the street had a big silver maple, which i liked, and i immediately collected some seeds from it, planting them in egg cartons. Every seed germinated, and i quickly moved them to pots. I think i had 20 little trees, growing like weeds. I planted every one in our little backyard and watered them generously for the first few years. As time went by i had to eliminate a few because they were simply too crowded. I left Ohio in 2000, and haven't been back since, and my mother died in 05 and the house was sold. Using Google Maps and Street View, i see that all the trees are still there and thriving, along with a couple of other trees that came up randomly over the years. I'd love to be able to visit my old backyard, but i doubt I'll ever get back there. Thanks for the video!

[@jaredladdjamison4560]

I have one that was planted when my house was built in 1973. Love the tree and do everything I can to take care of it.

[@wolfy1987]

One of my personal favorite trees. The leaves will shimmer as they blow in the wind, and they'll get very large. In my region only Tulip and White Pine really get bigger. We have a big one in our yard

[@georgesawtooth]

I've seen Silver Maples way over 100 years old.

[@a2r7n6]

I've been trimming on a Silver Maple for 15 years now and it's a gorgeous, and already a huge tree. The seedlings are a bit of a pain, but I love the tree.

[@mikefm4]

Fantastic video. Great information on a very common tree. I was surprised to hear they only live 50 or so years!

[@jimsmith77901]

See my comment above (or perhaps below). All the silver maples that I planted back in 1973 seem to be doing well. I've read that they live from 70 to 120 years, and was really surprised when he said 50.

[@jimboslice6367]

50 years? That can’t be right

[@wolfy1987]

As a street tree or on polluted sites it will often only live 50 or 60 years. In yards and in the wild it can top 100 years

[@IVORY123100]

Bought some twigs at Lowe's a few years ago .. Little pathetic twigs !! .. Thought they'd take forever to grow .. The Silver maple grows like a weed .. I found a sorry little tree buried in a pine forest that didn't cost me a dime .. I figured I killed it .. It blew up into a massive beautiful tree .. some trees give off a immense amount of those flying seeds and it seems like a week later they are a foot tall !! Give them 10 years and they will be 40' tall and provide plenty of shade .. I watch every year how they expand and they grow about 4-7 ' a year .. The seedlings grow faster than grass .. I also happen to have Crepe Myrtles .. They grow fast too .. I have one that I swear has the most flowers I have ever seen on a Crepe .. People ask me " What do you do ?' .. Nothing !!! .. Let nature take it's course and it will out perform anything we can do to them ..

[@chriswells1440]

Just had mine cut down along my driveway. What a messy tree. Those helicopters that fall off in early spring summer . The leaves are massive. Bird droppings on cars the little red bugs that grow early spring. Once it was cut down along the trunk it was full of carpenter ants it was about to fall. Gonna burn it in my stove for the winter here in Ohio.

[@johanelemay2240]

Hi Don, We have a silver maple in my backyard of 4.5 ft in diameter. We are considering installing an in-ground pool. Do you know what would be the safest distance from its trunk to where we can start digging in order to preserve the tree’s health? We have heard about the AirSpade root cutting technique. Thank you and great explanation in your videos.

[@wolfy1987]

I'n no expert, but I'd say get far enough that you're not hitting large roots. You can find information online about how far the roots spread on a silver maple. With many trees it will be at least as wide as the tree's branch spread

[@arboristBlairGlenn]

This species decays badly from larger pruning wounds. Often hollow. Big problem tree on the west coast as well.

[@leaf2180]

Then don't prune it 😂 some trees weren't meant to be cut. If a tree is bigger than you'd like, then do your research before buying one next time! :)

[@felixyusupov7299]

I hate that tree. I had a massive silver maple in my backyard. Horrible tree. Happy to have it cut down.

[@cynthiadonahey9989]

samara are supposed to be edible