what to grow in alkaline soil (DFW area)

18 years ago

Hello,

I'm wondering which maple can tolerate alkaline soil? I like Acer rubrum maples but it seems they'll grow and do well in acidic soil only. Someone said that it might work if you provide a lot of organic matter around the trunk to drip line.

I think i saw somewhere that Acer freemanii maples tolerate alkaline better but i can't seem to recall where that came from.

Supposedly, Caddo maple (Acer saccharum?) does very well in alkaline soil but i've never seen it at the nursery,

I've seen a lot of Acer truncatum 'Shantung Maple' at the nursery stores but it doesn't get very big at all.

Please anyone from dallas/ft worth that has alkaline soil share their own experiences with any kind of maples. Thanks!

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Comments (2)

kvolk
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Norway maple will do fine. How big of a tree do you want? The truncatum will get to at least 25 ft and some of it's hybrids even bigger. Acer griseum will tolerate the alkaline soil but is even smaller. Acer grandidentatum will do OK but again it isn't real big. You could try one of the imiproved cultivars of Acer negundo. They will do just fine.
griseum
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I live in Logan, UT. On average, our soil has a pH of 7.5-8.5.

-Bigtooth Maple (Acer grandidentatum) will grow as much as you water it. It is very drought tolerant but will grow faster, bigger with more water. It is said to get up to 30 feet tall. So, kvolk's right. It doesn't get too big. But, it's native to the Rockies all the way down to New Mexico. I imagine it will feel at home in Texas. And, it is still young as far as it's urban landscape use. I don't think we can really put a limit on how big it will get in this kind of environment just yet. It's pH range is 6.0-8.0. It's fall color is brilliant. You will see hues of yellow, orange, red, maroon; sometimes on the same tree. I am a student at Utah State University in the Ornamental Horticulture program. This is one of the trees that has been and still is vastly researched in our program. We have a grove that has various budded cultivars from the mountains around us. It will grow as a multitrunk tree if it is not watered and trained. But, it takes to training well.

Boxelder (Acer negundo) does well also. It can handle just about any soil condition you throw at it. It is also considered Xeric (less water use) and Riparian (stream beds). But, many consider it a trash tree. Partly because twigs and branches fall from it a lot. Partly because the females (it is dioecious) drop an astronomical amount of seeds. Also, there is a bug, the Boxelder Bug that eats the seeds. If you have a female Boxelder at your house, you will have Boxelder Bugs IN your house. But, there are cultivars worth considering. 'Flamingo' is a varigated form. Pink and green in the spring. By late summer, the pink has faded to white. One source tells me this is a female. Which means seeds. But, a more reliable source says it is a male. That is from Michael A. Dirr's 'Manual of Woody Landscape Plants.' What Dr. Dirr says is doctrine. But, he's not perfect. If you end up deciding on this 'Flamingo,' be sure it is a male.

I don't know about the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) family. Dirr says that the following plants are subspecies of the Sugar Maple:
Southern Sugar Maple (A. barbatum or floridanum)
Rocky Mountain Maple (A. glabrum)
Bigtooth Maple (A. grandidentatum)
Chalkbark Maple (A. leucoderme)
Boxelder (A. negundo)
Black Maple (A nigrum)
Red Maple (A. rubrum)
Silver Maple (A. saccharinum)
You said that the Red Maple is not doing well for your conditions. If you like the Red Maple, it is possible that it will graft with the Bigtooth. This way the Bigtooth will be the rootstock to handle your soil conditions. While you have a top that you enjoy. Now, I don't know that the graft will take. But, it is reasonable to assume considering that they are both subspecies of the same species. This is exactly what I am doing my research project for my Masters on. If it works for you, please let me know. If it's something you are interested in but not sure how to do it, let me know. I'd love to see how this will work out in Texas!

I have a book that our school put out that lists plants that do well in alkaline conditions. If you are looking for plants other than Maples, let me know.

Last thing. Have you heard of the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)? If so, how does it do in your soil? Thanks.
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what to grow in alkaline soil (DFW area)

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kvolk

griseum

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