I have a small yard and the sunniest spots happen to be just south of a huge silver maple. I’m determined to grow cherry, apple, and pear trees there, but as I’m cutting through roots with my shovel, I’m wondering if there is anything I can do to make sure my fruit trees get what they need and aren’t stifled by the maple. Any suggestions?
Remove it.
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Boy I’d love to, but I don’t have the many thousands of dollars required. Good long term solution though.
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silver maple are horribly messy trees and regularly shed large limbs in heavy wind. i have black willow which are equally as bad. ive been slowly, over the last 5 years, getting rid of them as i find the money to do so.
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I love silver maples, but not in my yard. As Steve said, they’re incredibly messy. I’ve been planting a number of silver maples along my creek in hopes their shade will eventually knock back the Reed Canary grass that dominates the area.
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Silver maples are water loving trees. They will send hair roots out to wherever there is water. They have massive roots and if they need water the roots will come up above ground to send out more roots outward for water. I loved with those around my houses for 35 years. You have to find a spot where the roots are not so thick and dig and dig to get ride of the smaller roots they send out to see if you can grow a tree there.
The silver maples are used by builders because they grow fast and offer quick shade trees.
How far away from the silver maple can you plant the new trees? The farther away the better.
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