![]() ![]() Seedlings can be hand pulled, and mature trees cut down, but it often resprouts again from the stump. It is tolerant of poor soils and air pollution, making it the dominant tree in many urban settings.Įradication of these trees requires a huge amount of labor. Its shallow roots make it prone to blowdowns. These seedlings are usually the only plant that can survive in the shade of mature Norway Maples.įorests with Norway Maples show much lower species diversity than forests that have not yet been invaded. The seedlings are very shade-tolerant, able to spread and grow in interior forests. They create a dense shade, under which other species cannot survive, hence my naked garden beds. ![]() ![]() They grow faster than native maples and other forest trees and its dense, shallow root system makes it difficult for native seedlings to get established. Norway Maples have severe environmental impacts: One of those falling branches would hurt them badly. I fear for my two dogs safety when they are in the yard. Will the leaves fall before it snows? It’s been a hit and miss proposition. It is the last tree to lose its leaves in the fall, often not until after Thanksgiving, which means that having my gutters cleaned is a game of Russian roulette. Every year I try to fill in these beds, and every year I watch in sadness as everything dies. My flower beds along this neighbors fence line are empty. I spend way too much time every spring and summer in an attempt to hand pull all of them. Every time the wind blows large branches fall from the top of the tree, making me very nervous about my roof. It sheds large branches from the top, then resprouts along the truck. This is one dirty tree, dropping trash at all seasons, including flower buds, two crops of seeds, twigs, branches, and copious amounts of leaves. Maybe one day responsibility will win out over profits. I continue to hope that someday soon Home Depot (and Lowes and Walmart) will awaken to the harm they are causing the environment by continuing to sell invasive plants. Norway Maples continue to be sold throughout the country as ornamental shade trees. ![]() During the 1930s and 1940s when the streets of many cities lost their shade trees to Dutch Elm disease, Norway Maple was widely used as a replacement because of its fast growth and deep shade.īrush pile of Norway Maple fallen branches This tree was brought to America by the famous botanist of Philadelphia, John Bartram. The plant that is inspiring my anger this week is the Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) because my neighbor has a whole yard full of them and he has no interest in maintaining them or eliminating the danger that they present to my roof. Norway Maple top snapped off, resprouting from trunk So I’m going to start a new series in which I highlight a specific invasive plant, where I’ll discuss what makes that plant such a problem and how we can eradicate them from our landscapes. Like Norway maple, flowers are yellowish-green, but they tend to appear in late April to May, and each hanging flower cluster or corymb is 6-12cm long.You may have noticed by now that invasive plants make me a little angry as well as the people who continue to plant invasives, and especially the people who continue to sell invasive plants. Opposing buds are green, and the flowers appear at the same time as the foliage. Sycamore has large leaves with five coarsely-toothed lobes.Fruits are paired and the wings spread on the horizontal or at a wide angle Flowers appear in April before the leaves, and the yellowish-green flowers grow in erect clusters. The opposing buds (characteristic to all acers) are deep red. Norway maple has large leaves with five to seven lobes with few sharp teeth and pointed tips.Other ways to distinguish between the two species (depending on the time of year) include comparing buds, flowers, leaves and samaras. Unlike sycamore, Norway maple exudes a milky sap when the leaf stalks are broken. Sycamores can reach 35m in height, taller than Norway maples, but their autumn colour is less spectacular. Acer platanoides can be confused with sycamore ( Acer pseudoplatanus), another naturalised European species introduced into Britain centuries ago, and widely planted from the 1700s. ![]()
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