Mattflew
New Member
I transplanted 10 or so volunteer silver maples from a filed to my yard today. What are my chacnes that they survive? They are good sized and am looking forward to responces,.
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Transplanting Maple Trees
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ironhead
ArboristSite Member
I did the same thing a couple of years ago and mine are doing very well. Hope you have the same good fortune. GaryMattflew said:
Not sure why anyone would move silver maples into their yard. After just a couple years the surface roots will get to be a real problem, not to mention the trees are dirty and fall color is not great. I hope for your sake the transplants don't take.
Mattflew
New Member
why?
Becuase I need something to fill up 1.5 scres! That why! Not really even sure if they are silver anyways....
Becuase I need something to fill up 1.5 scres! That why! Not really even sure if they are silver anyways....
ironhead
ArboristSite Member
Rtom45 said:
My transplants are doing very well and i'm going to do a couple more this year.I have a four acre yard with hardly any trees. After spending several hundred dollars over the last 18 years on trees and having all of them die i decided i was'nt going to spend any more money on trees. I live in Ashtabula, about 30 mi. west of you and the soil in my area is all clay and i just could'nt get any trees to take. The ones i transplanted were about 4' when i moved them. Good luck on yours Mattflew. Gary
Rtom45 said:
1. Surface roots are a minor problem if the hole is deep and wide.
2. Trees are not dirty. All trees shed their leaves, twigs, flowers etc. to renourish themselves and the earth. If this stuff gets taken away, other stuff must be put back.
3. A lot of oaks don't have great fall color, but we don't want them to die, do we?
All trees have value, beyond putting a check in the pocket of the person who removes them. Building on that value builds a sustainable, successful company.
whitenack
ArboristSite Operative
Silver maples are a plague in our area. They provide great shade, but they are vulnerable to wind damage, surface roots are a great problem, and they shed limbs regularly.
Surface roots aren't just a problem of deep planting. I grew up on a farm that had about 7 or 8 in the yard. I am pretty sure all were grown naturally from seed. All had raised roots.
Find a place with plenty of oak trees (old cemetarys are great) and go in the fall during the acorn drop. Just spending a few hours there will bring in 100's of potential trees. I have successfully grown many oak seedlings at no cost.
Surface roots aren't just a problem of deep planting. I grew up on a farm that had about 7 or 8 in the yard. I am pretty sure all were grown naturally from seed. All had raised roots.
Find a place with plenty of oak trees (old cemetarys are great) and go in the fall during the acorn drop. Just spending a few hours there will bring in 100's of potential trees. I have successfully grown many oak seedlings at no cost.
Way back when I worked for a commercial nursery, we wouldn't even grow silver maples, the boss didn't want to deal with the headaches after they had been in the ground awhile. At one of my homes, there was a large silver maple 'street tree' when we bought the house. I eventually had to replace the front walk because the roots destroyed it. A volunteer started at my father-in-laws home, I tried to talk him into removing it but he wouldn't. Now the surface roots run throughout his yard and into the yards of 2 neighbors. The tree constantly drops limbs, sheds bark, and the leaves in the fall, and the helicopters in spring are terrible. The only trees I hate worse than silver maples are willows and cottonwoods.
whitenack
ArboristSite Operative
SAWFISH said:
According to U of FL it is.
http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/trees/ACEPLAA.pdf
Course, there is a big difference between Florida climate and Michigan climate. Don't know how they grow up there.
Mattflew
New Member
Agree on Willows and Cottonwoods....
Kneejerk Bombas
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Mattflew said:
It depends how big the trees are. Big trees need big root balls. If you took enough roots when you moved them, they should do fine.
Silver Maples are nice trees, if and this is a big if, they are planted in the right spot. In the right spot, they are fast growing and can become spectactular trees. Always think about a plants mature size, these Maples get huge, fast. Fast growing trees tend to be weak wooded, messy, and short lived. But on 1.5 acre lot, there should be plenty of room.
We have 9 silver maples on our property that are going on 30 years old, and so far the only problem we've had is one in the yard that had a surface root problem that interfered with mowing the grass. A few years ago I covered them with about 3" of top soil and grass seed and haven't had a problem mowing over them since (and it didn't seem to bother the tree). There's also the occasional dead branches that fall to the ground, but I'm sure all big trees do that. I would advise keeping them far apart, as specimens, since they grow tall and wide FAST and don't look very nice IMO when the crowns grow into each other. The one thing that scares me is what an ice storm would do to them. We haven't had one in these parts in a long time.
One BIG disadvantage I just thought of: Once they get big, they produce TONS of seeds that go everywhere and clog your raingutters. They'll collect in your raingutters to the point where they will mat down and start growing if not removed. A real pain the neck this time of the year.
One BIG disadvantage I just thought of: Once they get big, they produce TONS of seeds that go everywhere and clog your raingutters. They'll collect in your raingutters to the point where they will mat down and start growing if not removed. A real pain the neck this time of the year.
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Gark
ArboristSite Operative
-Transplanting Maple Trees-
Your transplants will do fine, if our yard is any indication. Having alot of silver maples here that drop thousands of helicopters, we get dozens of baby maples popping up in every patch of dirt (even rain gutters). So, we transplanted several and all are thriving- the largest is now 27' high with 9" DBH and only 10 years old. They grow fast here.
Your transplants will do fine, if our yard is any indication. Having alot of silver maples here that drop thousands of helicopters, we get dozens of baby maples popping up in every patch of dirt (even rain gutters). So, we transplanted several and all are thriving- the largest is now 27' high with 9" DBH and only 10 years old. They grow fast here.
