sugar maple question

[BlackIce]

hello the group

i have a few questions about sugar maples i have 15 acres of land at stanthorpe australia bout 800 metres above sea lvl gets to -5 degrees celsius in winter am i correct in assuming that that should get good autumn colour ? also is -5 degrees celsius cold enough for these trees i figure in their original location like canada nth usa it would get a lot colder gets to about 35 degrees celsius in summer here how far apart should i plant the trees and what sort of growth can i expect sorry for all the questions the nursery i looking at getting them from is 2 hour drive down the road they have 5 for sale but they couldn't answer my questions their just selling them however their the only place that has maples to sell that i have been able to find last question do maples flower? as our family has bout 13 bee hives so it woould be a bonus if they did ok thanks in advance for your time and input

[Phisherman]

Yes. My sugar maple turns yellow in the autumn.

They need a cool winter, below freezing should be enough.

Sugar maples should be given enough space to spread out as they age. I'd give them 30 feet space between. Sugar maples are slow growers.

Well, I believe all trees either flower or produce cones. So, sugar maples do flower. The flowering period is short, so you'll need to plant clover or something else to help the bees.

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[Lynn]

HI,

Try this site

also try looking into . I have loads of maple trees on my property and yes the do flower in the spring, pretty red buds. they need cold nights and warm days in the spring for the sap to flow freely. I would go and buy those trees ,even if you never get any maple syrup they are beautiful shading trees.

[Emery Davis]

An interesting site with information that is not always up to date or complete. Still worth looking at, thanks for the link.

There will be no (or little) maple syrup, they need colder temps for that.

Acer saccharum is a complex species with several sub-species and various cultivars, so without more specific information as to the latin name of the trees it is hard to say what you're getting, or even what size they will eventually make.

Speaking in generalities, the species type flowers with greenish yellow, small flowers that appear in upright corycombs before the leaves. They are pretty but not terribly showy, although the bees will like them well enough.

You are not likely to see much fall colour. That requires cold nights and warm sunny days. For this reason A. saccharum is rarely grown in Europe, for example, where although it shows yellow it almost never goes brilliant red and orange as in the US.

They do not require freezing temperatures but if it doesn't get very cold they may sometimes suffer late frost damage. I don't think this will be a real problem here.

They are indeed slow growers but require space, minimum

10 m between trunks or they will look crowded in 100 years. :) (seriously, I have seen old aisles planted closer, they look fine.) They like sun, 35 C is no problem.

There are other maples that provide more reliable autumn colour in your climate, an example is A. x freemani of which the cultivar "Autumn Blaze" is now very widely available. Still autumn colour not withstanding they will make very fine trees and are likely to do well enough unless your soil is very alkaline.

HTH,

-E