Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is the tree behind maple syrup, and it is the state tree of New York, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. We ship bare-root sugar maple trees in 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 foot sizes, in packs of 25 to 500, for shade planting, sugarbush starts and woodlots.

Sugar Maple Size, Zones and Sun

Forest trees reach 80 to 115 feet, and a few top 150. Trees commonly live about 200 years, and some reach 300. Seed production starts around age 30. Sugar maple is among the most shade-tolerant large hardwoods, so it grows in sun or shade. Deep, well-drained loam suits it best, and it does poorly in pure sand or waterlogged ground.

Sap and Syrup

Boiling 40 gallons of sap gets you 1 gallon of syrup. Sugar makers drill a small hole just under the bark and set a tap in it. Trees in the southern part of the range give less sap.

Leaves, Fall Color and Seeds

Leaves have five lobes with rounded notches, which separates them from the angular notches of silver maple. Fall color runs yellow, orange and red-orange, and it often shows unevenly, so one tree can carry several colors at once. Paired winged seeds need about 45 days of cold, below 39°F, before they sprout the next spring. See why sugar maples matter in landscape design.

Sugar Maple Wood

Figured boards called birds-eye or curly maple are especially prized. The hard wood goes into bowling pins, basketball courts, baseball bats, violins and guitar necks. Read about the enchantment of sugar maple trees for more.

Good to Know About Sugar Maple

Sugar maple takes road salt poorly, so plant it away from salted roads and drives. Its roots lift water from deep soil to shallower layers, which helps plants growing nearby.

Sugar Maple Sizes, Packs and Shipping

Sugar maple trees ship bare-root in November, in three heights and packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500. Volume pricing available. Browse more trees for sale.