5 Tips on Caring for Maple Trees ...

Maple trees seem to prefer good soil, but then again, what plant doesn’t? I have a couple of places where the soil has a bit of clay, so I dug up a large circle of dirt and replaced it with a mixture of manure, sand, and nutrient-rich soil. This gave my little trees a good head start.

Mulching around maple trees in the spring will keep weeds from growing close to them. The fewer weeds there are, the more water your trees will be able to get. Also, the weeds suck nutrients out of the soil that your trees would benefit from. In short, weeds suck up food and water for your tree.

Be sure to water them often during the hot summer months. New trees especially need lots of water to be able to establish a good root system over the summer. If you don’t have adequate rainfall over the summer, then setting up a watering system is a good idea.

Fertilizing in the fall is crucial for the first 4 to 5 years of a maple tree’s life, but not during the very first season. All-purpose fertilizer works great and can be sprinkled around the ground under the tree. Make sure the granules are spread out evenly and water it well.

This is the best time for pruning, since the tree is dormant and sap won’t be an issue. Cut off weaker branches to give your maple tree a fresh, strong start in the spring. There is little else that needs to be done with maples over the winter.

I hope you find these care tips useful in raising happy, healthy maple trees. Some people find the seeds irritating, but I think they are great fun to watch as they spin to the ground. What types of maple trees do you prefer most of all? What do you like most about maple trees?

Top Photo Credit: Claude@Munich