Planting under a Silver Maple?
conniemcghee
12 years ago
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denninmi
12 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Plants That Do Well Under Maple Tree
Comments (36)It certainly does look great Sherry! I agree, I don't like the idea of being told something is impossible, challenging perhaps but not impossible lol! You have proven that plants and gardeners can overcome less than ideal conditions. Your plants are not hanging on by a thread, they are thriving. Kudos to you! felisar (z5) Yes, the Geranium macrorrhizum, Epimedium and Asarum canadense are great performers under Maples. I grow them under an immense Acer saccharum (Sugar maple). I also grow Polygonatum (Solomon's Seal) under it. Great plant(s) known for being able to adapt to dry shade. Phlox stolonifera performs very well also. Vinca took a while to establish but now needs to be controlled just like the Ajuga. Many other plants grow there but with less success. I had Actaea rubra (native here) seed in and it is deliriously happy growing under the Maple....See Moreweb of roots in junk under silver maple
Comments (6)A chainsaw is about the only thing that will kill silver and Norway maples - and even the chainsaw will not discourage them of attempting to resprout from the stump - so you're very, very unlikely to do any harm to the trees. The arduous labor of clearing out the roots, however, will quickly be for naught. Severed roots of silver maples regrow with astonishing speed. Silver maples are also notorious for shedding branches in wind and ice storms. You're correct in assuming that removal of trees this size will be expensive, but maybe it would be worth contacting several companies for quotes. If these trees are threatening the house itself, they should probably come down....See MoreGrowing grass under a silver maple
Comments (2)Grass can suffer under a maple for two reasons. The first is the "fight" for water/nutrients and the second is shade. Around here, the shade isn't really a bad thing, since the high altitude means that filtered sunlight can actually be preferable. But in most places, that can be a problem. Maples also have a lot of roots near the surface, so they can be resource hogs. You can't do anything about the sunlight (except maybe judicious pruning) but you can water and fertilize more under the tree to see if that helps....See Moreshrubs to grow under Silver Maple
Comments (1)Are they big trees with a low canopy or a high canopy (limbed up) because the extra light will increase your options. With 120 year old silver maples and high canopies, I have had success with: Eleutherococcus sieboldianus "Variegatus" Ribes sanguineum (Flowering Currant) Hamamelis virginiana and H. x intermedia (Witch Hazel) Forsythia viridissima "Kumson" Kerria japonica Buxus (Boxwood) Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape holly) Symphoricarpos albus (Snowberry) Aesculus parviflora (Bottlebrush Buckeye) Euonymous alatus (Burning Bush - it doesn't do much burning in the shade though) Abelia mosanensis Paeonia suffruticosa High or open shade has been critical for all of these. Low or dense shade will not end well. Undoubtedly there are others but these are mine. All are planted under the maples and compete with a thick mat of maple roots (ie. bone dry). I helped them for the first few years with irrigation and despite that, growth was slow. After 3 years or so, they were able to compete (growth accelerated) without irrigation. I would not use any fabric (maple roots grow through it anyway)....to much work, not enough benefit. These ones failed - mainly lack of moisture, some b/c of light: Oak Leaf Hydrangea Paniculata Hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens Carolina Allspice Ribes odoratum Viburnum opulus Ilex x meserveae...See Moreconniemcghee
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