With their wavy leaves ending in pointed tips and their winged seeds floating through the air, maples are one of the most recognizable tree types at Ney. On many occasions over the past few months, working with different types of maple trees became a consistent part of my routine. Interacting with them taught me about their identifying characteristics and how they interact with their environment. The two specific maple trees I have been working with are the Amur Maple (Acer ginnala) and the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum). Managing both species of trees calls for several steps of action along the way, encouraging us to mobilize excellent volunteers to help us accomplish our goals.
Up first, workday volunteers and I learned about Amur Maples and worked through a series of steps to manage them at Ney.
- Amur Maples are invasive and need to be removed. While the shrub-like growth patterns and red fall foliage are aesthetically beautiful, the excessive amount of seed dispersal and lack of native competition classify the Amur Maple tree as an invasive species. These trees tend to grow in clusters and continue that process as new trunks stem from the roots, causing them to take up a lot of space and natural resources. As a result of their growth success rate, they are able to produce countless seeds that scatter far and wide on windy days, continuing this issue in additional locations.
- Amur Maples are strong, but volunteers are stronger. Across two separate work days this winter and early spring, several volunteers donated their time to eradicate the largest Amur Maples around the pond at Ney. We accomplished this project together by removing trunks, trimming branches for stacking, and treating stumps with herbicide.
Bonus step! Working outside can be physically taxing. Thankfully, the Ney pond encourages many moments to stop, take a break, and appreciate the surroundings. During our early spring time at the pond, we heard several Wood Ducks call as they flew overhead. Then, in the summer time, I encountered slithering garter snakes, calling Blue Jays, and an inching translucent larva. Kindly sharing space with wildlife grows my appreciation for the work I get to do on these projects.
- Planting a better future. To encourage native plant growth in place of the removed Amur Maples, volunteers demonstrated their support once again. We came together on another work day to plant more than 100 fruiting trees including American Plum, Black Cherry, Chokecherry, Hackberry, and Nannyberry. As these trees continue to grow, they will provide new wildlife habitat and pollination opportunities.
- The efforts don’t stop there. Since Amur Maple trees produce so many scattering seeds, we discovered just how many were able to grow in the absence of the larger trees. Newly growing seedlings are fairly easy to pull from the ground, especially after any of the rainy days we’ve had this summer. The work is relaxing and ensures the growth of planted native fruiting trees and other plants, but more importantly, it continues recognize the outstanding efforts of the volunteers who transformed the spaces around our beautiful pond.
Many different types of plants – weeds, invasives, and natives – grow at these sites around the pond. Currently, the Amur Maples have red and orange leaves, making them easy to spot and remove. Minnesota Wildflowers or iNaturalist are helpful sites to use when identifying all remaining plants. (Photo by Sara Corbin)
In addition to working with Amur Maple trees, I get the privilege of working with Sugar Maple trees. Of course, most of these interactions take place during the spring maple syrup season; however, this year, we are calling on volunteers to get to know Sugar Maple trees in the fall, too.
On August 17th, volunteers are invited to follow along with us as we work through a set of steps with our Sugar Maples.
- Know how to identify Sugar Maple trees. When the leaves are on full display throughout summer and fall, their classic shape makes it easy to identify a Sugar Maple. The waves, or lobes, of a Sugar Maple leaf don’t cut as deep as those of a Silver Maple, giving the leaf a more full shape. These waves end in five distinct points around the outside of the leaf.
While knowing the leaf shape is helpful during certain times of year, understanding the bark appearance is key year round. Oftentimes, Sugar Maple bark is darker than other nearby trees. This can be caused either by sap dripping from woodpecker made holes and solidifying or by a fungus growing on the tree.
The final, and in my personal practice, the best way to identify a Sugar Maple tree is based on the branch arrangement. All maple trees have oppositely arranged branches, which means the branches grow directly across from each other on either side of a limb. This patterning is easy to spot on lower hanging branches during any season.
- Have flagging tape at the ready. After learning how to identify Sugar Maples, Saturday’s volunteer group will be walking our syrup trail to flag any trees that weren’t tapped for the previous syruping season. It is important to wrap the flagging tape all the way around the trunk of the tree, rather than only one small branch, so it is easier to spot the leafless maples once March rolls around.
We flagged this tree during the 2024 syruping season so we’d know exactly what trees to give a break in 2025. The blue stands out well since it is wrapped around the whole tree. (Photo by Liz Sheppard)
- Enjoy a morning with great people in a great park. Whether we are removing Amur Maples or preparing Sugar Maples for the syruping season, working with dedicated volunteers is incredible. They bring so much knowledge and excitement to the workdays, which makes me that much more grateful for the opportunity to care for our wonderful park.
Working with Amur and Sugar Maples is an ongoing process full of discovery and fun here at Ney. We hope to see you at our upcoming workday on Saturday, August 17th from 9am to 12pm.