Maple trees are renowned for their vibrant foliage, making them a popular choice for adding stunning color to landscapes. Regardless of your yard’s size or your location’s weather, there’s a maple variety that will suit your needs. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore 15 types of maple Leaf trees, each offering unique characteristics to enhance your landscape.
1. Japanese Maple
With their elegant form and foliage, Japanese maple trees have been treasured for centuries. Available in hundreds of varieties, these maples feature beautifully serrated green or red foliage. They remain compact, making them suitable for tight spaces, and can even be grown as bonsai.
Botanical Name: Acer palmatum
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade
Zones: 5–8
2. Coral Bark Maple
For year-round color, consider the coral bark maple. This variety boasts reddish-pink bark and pale green leaves that turn bright yellow in the fall. In winter, the bark’s color intensifies, creating a striking contrast against snowy landscapes.
Botanical Name: Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade
Size: 15–20 feet tall, 12 feet wide
Zones: 5–8
3. Paperbark Maple
The paperbark maple is a slow-growing tree ideal for small yards. It features lovely, peeling red-brown bark and produces bright green foliage that turns reddish-yellow in the fall.
Botanical Name: Acer griseum
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: 20–30 feet tall, 12 feet wide
Zones: 5–7
4. Sugar Maple
Sugar maples are known for their spectacular fall foliage, displaying vibrant red, orange, and yellow colors. They make excellent shade trees for large backyards, with ‘Green Mountain’ being a popular drought-resistant variety.
Botanical Name: Acer saccharum
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: 50–75 feet tall, 30–45 feet wide
Zones: 4–8
5. Silver Maple
The silver maple is a graceful, fast-growing tree best suited for moist locations away from buildings. It has a beautiful silver underside to its leaves but should be planted away from underground pipes due to its aggressive root system.
Botanical Name: Acer saccharinum
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: 60–80 feet tall, 40–60 feet wide
Zones: 3–9
6. Red Maple
A North American native, the red maple forms an oval crown of bright green leaves that turn fiery red in the fall. Varieties like ‘Red Sunset’ and ‘October Glory’ are popular for their stunning autumn display.
Botanical Name: Acer rubrum
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade
Size: 40–60 feet tall, 30–40 feet wide
Zones: 3–9
7. Hedge Maple
The hedge maple’s rounded form can be easily sheared to create a privacy screen or living wall. In fall, it develops pretty, pale yellow leaves, with varieties like ‘Metro Gold’ and ‘Royal Ruby’ offering bold fall color.
Botanical Name: Acer campestre
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade
Size: 20–35 feet tall, 20–30 feet wide
Zones: 5–8
8. Crimson King Maple
Known for its purple leaves, the Crimson King maple is actually a form of the common Norway maple. Its foliage turns a deep maroon in the fall, adding a striking contrast to the landscape.
Botanical Name: Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: 35–45 feet tall, 25–30 feet wide
Zones: 3–7
9. Snakebark Maple
Named for its unique, striped bark, the snakebark maple is relatively compact, making it ideal for small backyards. Plant it where you can admire its spectacular bark, which becomes more colorful with age.
Botanical Name: Acer pectinatum ssp. forrestii
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade
Size: 15–20 feet tall, 15 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
10. Korean Maple
If you love Japanese maple trees but live in a region where they won’t survive the winter, consider the Korean maple. These rugged trees can tolerate cold temperatures and feature deeply lobed, dark green leaves that turn crimson in autumn.
Botanical Name: Acer pseudosieboldiana
Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Partial Shade
Size: 15–25 feet tall, 15 feet wide
Zones: 4–8
11. Trident Maple
Resistant to air pollution, the trident maple is a good choice for street-side plantings. In the fall, its bright green lobed foliage changes to deep scarlet and orange, providing a stunning display.
Botanical Name: Acer buergerianum
Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Partial Shade
Size: 20–30 feet tall, 20–30 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
12. Three-Flowered Maple
Also known as roughbark maple, this versatile tree grows well in shade or sun and develops interesting ridges or knobs on the trunk as it matures. It is one of the few varieties that develop fall color even in shade.
Botanical Name: Acer triflorum
Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Shade
Size: 20 feet tall, 20 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
13. Morton Miyabe Maple
Selected at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, the Morton miyabe maple is a durable, easy-care tree with fantastic fall color. Its dense branches make it a terrific shade tree, and it’s tolerant to heat, cold, and urban pollution.
Botanical Name: Acer miyabei
Growing Conditions: Full Sun
Size: 40–50 feet tall, 30–35 feet wide
Zones: 4–6
14. Tatarian Maple
A tough and attractive tree, the tatarian maple tolerates cold winters and hot summers. Look for varieties like ‘Hot Wings’, which develop spectacular scarlet seedpods and grow well in full sun to partial shade.
Botanical Name: Acer tataricum
Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Partial Shade
Size: 15–20 feet tall, 15 to 20 feet wide
Zones: 3–8
15. Black Maple
Closely related to sugar maple, black maples are more heat and drought-resistant. They form large, rounded crowns and display brilliant shades of yellow and red in the fall.
Botanical Name: Acer saccharum nigrum
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: 50–75 feet tall, 50 feet wide
Zones: 4–8
Maple trees offer a wide range of options to enhance your landscape with stunning colors and unique foliage. Whether you prefer the elegance of Japanese maples or the hardiness of black maples, there’s a variety to suit every taste and garden size. Consider incorporating these beautiful trees into your landscape for years of beauty and enjoyment.
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