Detailed Explanation of Key Points in American Red Maple Planting Techniques

American red maple is a plant in the genus Acer of the family Aceraceae, also known as Canadian red maple, native to the east coast of the United States, and is a large deciduous tree. It grows relatively fast, with mature trees reaching 12-18 m in height and a crown spread of 12 m, and can adapt to growing in a wide range of soil types. It blooms in spring, with red flowers. Because of its striking autumn colors and neat crown, it is widely used for planting in parks, residential communities and along streets, suitable both for landscape gardening and as a street tree, and is deeply loved by people; it is one of the ideal rare tree species introduced in recent years for beautifying and greening urban landscapes.

Ecological Characteristics

It likes water and fertilizer, tolerates low temperatures (around minus 40 degrees), and tolerates saline-alkali soil. It grows fastest in the Shandong Peninsula and Rizhao area, which is consistent with the latitude in North America, with basically the same climatic and temperature conditions; annual growth reaches 80-120 cm, and its autumn color change is the most prominent and the most uniform.

Main Traits

It can reach up to 30 M in height, with a crown spread of 10 M. The leaves are palmate with 3-5 lobes, leaf length 10 CM, the leaf surface bright green, the leaf underside whitish, some with white down. In spring the new leaves turn reddish, setting off the clusters of red flowers beautifully; in summer the branches and leaves form shade; in autumn the leaves turn a gorgeous red that lasts a long time. The tree form is upright and upward, with a rounded crown. In spring it bears small red flowers, and the fruit has wings and is red. This tree species grows rapidly and is the fastest-growing among all red maple varieties.

Habit Characteristics

It has strong adaptability and is cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant and moisture-tolerant. The climates of Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Jilin, Henan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Sichuan, ** and other places in China are all suitable. Every autumn the pure improved red maple can stably display a brilliant red leaf effect, and acidic to neutral soil makes the autumn color even more vivid.

Seedling Raising Techniques

1. Nursery site selection and treatment: For American red maple seedling raising, sandy loam that is slightly acidic, moist, well-drained and has good irrigation conditions should be selected. Before sowing, apply 5000 kg of organic fertilizer and 50 kg of NPK ternary compound fertilizer per mu. To prevent seedling diseases and insect pests, especially underground pests, 8-10 kg of ferrous sulfate and 2 kg of phoxim granules are needed per mu, mixed evenly with fine soil, spread on the surface, then deep plowed, harrowed fine and leveled to make beds, with the requirement that the bed width be 1 m, the bed ridge width 30 cm, and the bed length 20-30 m.

2. Seed treatment, sowing time and method: American red maple seeds have no dormancy, so they can be sown either in autumn or in spring; here spring sowing is mainly introduced. The sowing time is preferably from mid-March to mid-April. Before sowing, first mix the seeds evenly with wet sand at a ratio of 1:3, and place them under conditions of 3-5 degrees C for one month of low-temperature sand storage treatment. During stratification, regular inspection and management are required; if germinating seeds are found, they should be sown promptly. When sowing, first irrigate the bed with enough bottom water, wait for the water to seep down, then sow, with a sowing rate of about 200 seeds per square meter. After sowing, cover with 0.5 cm of fine soil. To preserve soil moisture, raise ground temperature, and make the seeds sprout early and evenly, plastic film or a small arch shed can be used for covering; the arch shed should be ventilated, and when the midday temperature exceeds 30 degrees C, appropriate shading is needed. Generally, about 15-20 days after sowing, the seedlings emerge completely.

3. Seedling stage management and growth: After the seedlings emerge, their initial growth is relatively slow and their resistance is poor, so they should be sprayed with water frequently to maintain soil moisture, and weeds should be removed promptly; when hoeing weeds, cultivate the soil promptly, bank up as much soil as possible, and prevent lodging. When the seedlings grow to 5 cm high, thin them, generally after thorough irrigation, removing weak, diseased and small seedlings at a spacing of 10-15 cm between plants, keeping the seedlings robust and uniform; where seedlings are missing, choose rainy days to transplant and fill in gaps with soil balls. In early June, apply urea as a topdressing together with watering, 15 kg per mu; in mid-July, apply another 10-15 kg of urea per mu, and appropriately control water later. If pests such as slug moths are found, spray 4000 times dilution of 2.5% deltamethrin for control.

In the same year, seedling height can reach 1-1.5 m, and in the second spring they can be transplanted separately.