Eagle Lake Nurseries Gardening Tips October 2007 Maples are wonderful trees for growing in our climate. They are drought tolerant once established, provide shade in the hot summer, shelter from prairie wind and display beautiful colours in the fall. Both tree and shrub forms are available to suit the size of your garden. ‘Sensation’ maple [Acer negundo ‘Sensation’] is a large tree, growing to 10m tall and 8m wide, with a uniform, upright habit and bright orange/red fall colour. Although not a fast growing tree, it is recommended for a larger site as it will grow to an impressive size in time. For a smaller garden, consider the ‘Ventura’ Amur maple [Acer x ‘Ventura’] at 5m tall and 3m in width. This is the tree form of the Amur maple, with spectacular red fall colour displayed by distinctly lobed leaves. Also, it tolerates pruning very well and so may be shaped to the desired size. Many people who move to the prairies from eastern Canada long to grow the sugar maples that remind them of “home”. Unfortunately, these are not truly hardy in our area, but a good substitute is the Silver maple [Acer saccharinum ‘Silver Cloud’]. This is large tree, at 15m tall by 12m wide, whose attractive green leaves with silver undersides turn bright orange-yellow in the fall. It is best planted in an area protected from the prevailing wind. A frequent feature of the prairie landscape for generations has been the Manitoba maple, or box elder, a remarkably tough tree which has been the staple of shelterbelts for many years. Its drought and alkaline soil tolerance, and hardiness, made it indispensable, in spite of the tendency of the branches to break in storms. The trees self- seed and are prone to attack by aphids, which may be a nuisance in the garden. ‘Baron’ Manitoba maple [Acer negundo ‘Baron’] is a seedless male clone, growing 14m high and 12m wide. As a shrub, maples are increasing in popularity because of their marvelous fall colour and extreme hardiness. Amur maple [Acer ginnala] is especially popular: the best time to select one of these is in the fall when the colours are displayed. The deeply lobed leaves have a distinctly oriental look, and making them a good substitute for Japanese maple which is not prairie hardy. Tartarian maple [Acer tartaricum] is slightly larger, at 6m tall and 5m in spread, with a dense rounded canopy and scarlet foliage and seeds in the fall. It may also be trained into tree form by judicious pruning, and birds appreciate the winged seeds of both these shrubs as winter food. Jennifer Seafoot Eagle Lake Nurseries Ltd.