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The Norway Maple is a robust and tolerant tree. It preforms well in both sun and partial shade. It has a high salt tolerance and can grow in many different soils including sandy, loam and clay, but it grows best in well-drained soil with a pH range of 3.7 to 7.0. All of these factors make city street and parks an ideal location for a Norway Maple.
Some training is necessary while the tree is young to cultivate a strong central leader and stout scaffold. It can be transplanted simply with little consequence on the root system or foliage.
Tree Care and Planting Tips
Pruning near the end of the season, prior to the samara turning brown will prevent wild seedlings from polluting your property.Annual fertilizing with a balanced food that targets the deep roots is best to prevent a disease called Verticillum wilt that causes sudden wilting of the leaves. It can target 1 or 2 branches or the whole canopy. The Norway Maple is also susceptible to infection by a fungus called tar spot, or Rhytisma acerinum.
Its hairless twigs are green at first, then soon change to a reddish-purple. The buds are similar in colour, about 3-8 mm long and have fine hairs at the edges. Greenish-yellow, 5 petal flowers emerge in round clusters at the end of the branches in April as the leaves expand.
Description
The Norway Maple is a fast-growing tree that reaches a height of 30 m and a Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) of 1.5 m. It features a rounded symmetrical crown, habitually as broad as the tree is tall. Its branches and lush foliage form a dense canopy, often making it difficult for the sun to penetrating through to the ground underneath. The Norway Maple produces large leaves that are 7-14 cm long and 8-20 cm across. They are palm-shaped with 5 lobes stemming from the leaf base, each bearing 1-3 bristle-tipped teeth.
You can find the beautiful Norway Maple all over Toronto, as its a dominant tree in many North American cities. Toronto Island Park, Trinity Bellwoods Park and Queen’s Park are some of the urban forests where you will see the Norway Maple. Originally, it was planted as a replacement for Elm trees that were destroyed by the Dutch Elm Disease in the mid 20th Century. The Norway Maple is a resilient species and capable of tolerating urban pollution, salt and other stresses. This tree can be a problem in some areas where it self-seeds and dominates over other native vegetation. However, with care and management the Norway Maple is useful for its shade and can be a beautiful addition to your property.
Norway Maple
Acer Plantanoides
Some of the common names for the Norway Maple’s fruit are helicopters, keys, wingnuts, whirligigs, or polynoeses, but its technical name is a samara. The fruits are pairs of winged seeds, each one about 3-5 cm long. They are green when the tree is young and turn brown as they mature in September or October. In the autumn, the leaves turn red and drop along with the samaras.
In the first 2-3 years the bark is smooth and light grey but becomes darker and ridged, often in a diamond-shaped pattern, with maturity.