Sugar Maple

Sugar maple is the iconic deciduous tree of northeastern North American hardwood forests, a slow-growing, long-lived tree famous for its maple syrup production and brilliant fall color. The leaves are opposite, deeply lobed with rounded lobes, and turn orange, red, and yellow in fall. The seeds (samaras) are large and paired, diverging nearly horizontally. The bark is gray and develops deep furrows with age. The tree reaches 100+ feet in its native range and develops a broadly pyramidal crown. In Western Washington, sugar maple is rarely planted and is generally an out-of-place species.

In Western Washington, sugar maple faces significant challenges. Its preference for cool winters, moderate summers, and adequate spring moisture does not align with our maritime climate of cool, wet winters and dry summers. Trees often develop chlorosis and leaf scorch, and diseases thrive in humid conditions. Native bigleaf maple is better adapted to regional soils and rainfall patterns, and vine maple (Acer circinatum) fills a similar role in smaller spaces. Established sugar maples that are healthy can persist for decades, but new plantings rarely match the performance seen in the species' native range across eastern North America.