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Our home has a relatively young, but fast-growing maple tree in the front yard. I'm not a professional, but with a little internet help I think I identified it as a Silver Maple. Armed with that information we are ready to cut it down before it gets any bigger and plant something more suitable. The previous owners planted it about 22 feet from the house and if it really is as prone to breakage and root invasion as they say, we'd just like to get rid of it now before it becomes more expensive to remove... or falls on our house
However, as we prepare to select replacement trees, I've become concerned I could have misidentified it... Autumn Blaze is a Red Maple/Silver Maple Hybrid, and I have no idea what I'd be looking for to try and identify it if it were a Silver Maple Hybrid. And looking for new trees, I haven't seen a single Silver Maple available for sale, but I have come across dozens of Autumn Blaze.
My tree is very fast growing. It doesn't currently have a central leader... it's poor branching and narrow crotches lead me to get ready to prune it, which is when we decided if it was a Silver Maple we would just cut it down. It's leaves look exactly like you would expect a Silver Maple's to... green and glossy on top, silvery-white and soft on bottom with deep lobes. The bark is very thin and smooth, but it's only about 5 inches in diameter yet. But the foliage definitely turns orangish-red in the fall.
Is this definitely a Silver Maple? I'd hate to cut it down if it didn't need to be done.
Regardless of what kind of tree it is, it's too close to the house. It's a very common mistake made by people who are planting small trees. 22' looks really nice when the tree stands 8' tall. However...
I'd suggest you plant a new tree, or two, where you want them for the long haul. After they're established and growing well, cut down the Maple that's too close to the house.
I disagree that 22' is too close. It's a matter of opinion, of course, but I think once you get to nearly 20 feet, you've got enough distance from the house that the house doesn't look overwhelmed, but it still ties into the landscaping.
I wonder if the Silver Maple hybrids really avoid the issues of Silver Maples. They might have been created for that purpose, but it also might have been for better fall color. Where I am, at least, Silver Maples have little to no red color in the fall. They are mainly yellow with a little orange tinge.
I disagree that 22' is too close. It's a matter of opinion, of course, but I think once you get to nearly 20 feet, you've got enough distance from the house that the house doesn't look overwhelmed, but it still ties into the landscaping.
Let me clarify. 22' is too close for a tree that will grow to be 50+ feet tall.
It's nice for a shrub, or flowering dwarf tree, but not for a large shade tree. I have a HUGE walnut tree about 25' away from my house. Because of its size and location, I'm going to have to pay somebody about $5,000 to cut it down & haul it off.
It depends somewhat on the shape of the tree. If the lower branches are very horizontal in growth, and large, it might be too close, but for most of the large trees I see, 20 ft or so from homes, I stand by what I said. I live in a neighborhood built 50-60 years ago, so there are many examples. And if necessary, removing the the lowest branches would often solve any problem.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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100% beyond the shadow of a doubt, that is acer x fremanii / freemans maple (probably 'autumn blaze' cultivar)
It's got the characteristic frost cracks, growth habit, iffy structure, red leaf stems with light undersides. The whole 9 yards.
And for what it's worth, I'd keep it.
I manage about 2 dozen of them and also have one in my back yard. They're not my favorite maple but in your part of the country it's probably the only maple if you've got real alkaline soils. They don't grow as tall as species and you've got plenty of room there. My 2 cents.
The roots are already expanding very far out from the tree at or just below the surface. You'll notice that's where the bulk of the drought stress is on the lawn. You may as well go ahead and expand your mulch ring and gradually expand it as the tree grows. That will remove some of the lawn that isn't doing well with the roots and cover up the roots when they come to surface. (Not if- when)
Last edited by cittic10; 08-25-2012 at 05:57 PM..
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