Species Spotlight: Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
The silver maple is an exceptional ornamental tree and great for wildlife. It provides year-round visual interest. The short trunk and long-reaching arms give a striking appearance in winter. Perched birds are easily observed among the bare branches. Early spring provides deep red buds in a bland landscape. In summer, the deeply serrated leaves are silver from underneath and green from above. As they dance in the wind, it provides quite the show of color. Fall gives us bright yellow leaves. It is also among the fastest growing trees in the Mid-Atlantic, growing at a rate of up to four or more feet per year. Therefore, it rapidly establishes itself as a prominent tree.
I have a silver maple in my yard and it is a great family tree. The short trunk makes it an excellent climbing tree for kids. It’s lots of fun to throw the helicopter seeds and watch them twirl to the ground. The dense leaves provide deep shade for a cool place to sit on a hot summer day. We also had lots of fun tapping the tree for sap in the late winter. We were able to get many meals worth of maple syrup from this tree. In spring, I have witnessed squirrels daily gorging themselves on fresh seeds. Watching them acrobatically climb to the edge of branches and hang upside down to eat is quite entertaining. A silver maple would make an excellent addition to your yard.
Below is a link to a detailed report of the silver maple if you are interested in further research. The US Forest Service FEIS is a great resource for detailed plant reports.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/acesah/all.html