I have a silver maple tree growing too close to my shed...

[LaydeeBug]

and someone told me that it's a "weed tree". I've never heard of this.

Is it?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. They are, kind of.

They can be sort of invasive, in the respect that they seed like crazy and you end up with maple shoots all over your yard and zillions of seeds in your gutters. They grow very fast and become quite large, but the wood is soft and as the tree gets old it weakens and can split or fall over. My neighbor has an enormous one in his back yard that he really doesn't want but it's so big that it would cost a fortune to have someone take it out. So you want to consider whether you really want a huge, messy tree in your yard.

[postulater]

2. I agree.

I have a Norway Maple that volunteered about 20 years ago. Now it is 6 inches across and drops huge leaves like a carpet every fall.

So I just planted a Connell Red Apple to replace it.

[Scuba]

3. Aw, just move the shed.

[TygrBright]

4. They aren't great trees for homeowners

They're excellent trees for developers because they are very fast growing and they look nice when young. However, they do have some problems:

1. Their wood is both soft and brittle, which combined with the fast growth means that you have a high risk of major damage from heavy winds. And if they are close to structures, having a big limb go can cause some nasty collateral damage.

2. Their root systems run close to the surface, which means you get a lot of roots protruding and presenting problems if you mow the area under the tree, they can pose a risk for tripping, etc. They can also heave small structures, cause problems with pipes/conduit, etc.

3. The shade they provide when fully leafed-out is fairly dense, which means that ground covers under the canopy have to be very versatile- tolerate exposure during winter and early spring, heavy shade in the summer, and a heavy carpet of leaves in fall.

4. They are free with their seeds and VERY fertile. You will find yourself rooting up plenty of baby maples in almost any area of exposed or semi-exposed soil. (They're not as bad as Norways, but they're still um, fecund.)

5. Because they leaf so densely, they produce a very high volume of large, heavy leaves in the fall, and they will not blow away/decompose on their own. They'll blow, but into drifts that will just sit there. You'll have to gather, mulch, shred, dispose, etc.

6. They don't have a terribly long life cycle- about 100 years. Which means they start reaching "senescence" (become very vulnerable to rot, disease, damage, etc.) at about 70-75 years.

That's why a lot of people call them "weed" trees. They are not, they're just temperate softwoods that evolved to live in certain ecosystems and don't really provide what we generally want from an urban or suburban "yard tree."

In 1997 we moved into a house that was built in the late 1950s, and had a big silver maple in the back yard. It had been badly cared for (at one point someone thought it would be a good idea to "top" it.... WTF??) and possibly because of that it was already senescent. After the second storm in which a major limb came down quite close to a shed we decided to take it out and replace it with a Carolina hornbeam, which was a better fit for the location.

helpfully,
Bright

[LaydeeBug]

5. Thank you, and THANKS EVERYONE. I think I want some dwarf fruit trees anyway.

When I was a girl, we had a peach tree in my back yard that flowered and produced fruit.

I might do the same, but this tree was established...I'd have no idea where to begin

[TygrBright]

6. If it's a large, established tree, get some professional help.

Silver maples can literally fall apart during removal, so be sure you have a pro deal with the major limb and trunk removal. Most professionals will also recommend that you leave the stump for a while rather than trying to have it removed at the same time. It'll depend on your plans for the area, of course.

In our case, we left the stump for almost a year, then as soon as the ground unfroze the next spring, had them come and remove it and the major root runs. We weren't planting the hornbeam in exactly the same spot, so there was no real problem with leaving it for awhile.

Good luck!

arborphiliallly,
Bright

[LaydeeBug]

7. It's only about siz feet high at this point. The chainsaw can handle it. lol nt