Should I Ditch this Norway Maple?
 

The enormous garden I'm reworking has a sapling Norway maple planted on
the property line & my first inclination upon spotting it was to get rid
of it. There are hundreds of spots all around this property that need
attention and I have to be conservative about removing stuff that has
already been done, but I just think the future dominance of this tree
could in a decade be a nuisance to maintaining substory plants or fruiting
trees. The owners of the place pretty much trust whatever I decide, but
there's so much that I'm uncertain about, & maybe I'm over-reacting to not
like this sapling & for predicting it'll be a crummy tree someday. Anyone
with a big Norway maple in their yard that they now wish someone dug up &
discarded back when it was still a sapling? Anyone who has abject praise
for theirs?

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:19:59 -0800,
(paghat) wrote:

The enormous garden I'm reworking has a sapling Norway maple planted on
the property line & my first inclination upon spotting it was to get rid
of it. There are hundreds of spots all around this property that need
attention and I have to be conservative about removing stuff that has
already been done, but I just think the future dominance of this tree
could in a decade be a nuisance to maintaining substory plants or fruiting

If the bark is brown and the leaves turn yellow in fall & closely
resemble sugar maples then yes, get rid of it. By the roots, if
possible.

Decade? try a year or two....norways grow 5 feet per year in good
conditions. Buying a true sugar maple to replace it would be a great
idea.

Dan

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:19:59 -0800,
(paghat) wrote:

The enormous garden I'm reworking has a sapling Norway maple planted on
the property line & my first inclination upon spotting it was to get rid
of it. There are hundreds of spots all around this property that need
attention and I have to be conservative about removing stuff that has
already been done, but I just think the future dominance of this tree
could in a decade be a nuisance to maintaining substory plants or fruiting
trees. The owners of the place pretty much trust whatever I decide, but
there's so much that I'm uncertain about, & maybe I'm over-reacting to not
like this sapling & for predicting it'll be a crummy tree someday. Anyone
with a big Norway maple in their yard that they now wish someone dug up &
discarded back when it was still a sapling? Anyone who has abject praise
for theirs?

-paghat the ratgirl

Norway Maple isn't exactly choice, though it's not a g**d**n weed like
Box Elder or Silver Maple. Its faults are hyperaggressive roots and
harboring aphids. It's one of the trees that I'd make sure wasn't
planted near a drain line.

You'll need to envision whether a 20-meter tree (in not too many
years) that competes viciously with anything you try to plant under or
near it ultimately belongs where it is. In other words, if you want to
use that place just for a specimen tree, it's not actually a bad
choice, but if you want the place where it is for other purposes, the
Norway Maple may as well go, and it will be no great loss.

--
Chris Green

By all means, in every case, lose the damned Norway maple! This tree adds
nothing to the urban or suburban forest, and is nothing but a noxious
invader. I have never seen a Norway that could not have been replaced with a
better (usually native) species.

ML

--
Mike LaMana, MS, CTE
Heartwood Consulting Services, LLC
Toms River, NJ
www.HeartwoodConsulting.net




"paghat" wrote in message
...
The enormous garden I'm reworking has a sapling Norway maple planted on
the property line & my first inclination upon spotting it was to get rid
of it. There are hundreds of spots all around this property that need
attention and I have to be conservative about removing stuff that has
already been done, but I just think the future dominance of this tree
could in a decade be a nuisance to maintaining substory plants or fruiting
trees. The owners of the place pretty much trust whatever I decide, but
there's so much that I'm uncertain about, & maybe I'm over-reacting to not
like this sapling & for predicting it'll be a crummy tree someday. Anyone
with a big Norway maple in their yard that they now wish someone dug up &
discarded back when it was still a sapling? Anyone who has abject praise
for theirs?

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

In article , "Stephen
M. Henning" wrote:

(paghat) wrote:

Anyone
with a big Norway maple in their yard that they now wish someone dug up &
discarded back when it was still a sapling? Anyone who has abject praise
for theirs?

My neighbor has large Norway maples and there is a row of Norway maple
seedlings along the property line. They are considered a noxious
invasive plant and I know why. Their leaves are a big mess. Nothing
grows under them. They don't look bad, but they create so many problems
that they are not worth the battle. My advice would be to take care of
the problem while it is small.

A concensus surely has arisen -- thanks to you, Mike L., Christopher & Dan
-- & anyone who adds their own sentiments later. I get squeemish guilty
feelings when I decide to destroy a tree, so glad to be seconded & thirded
on this decision.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 10:59:53 -0500, "Mike LaMana"
fake@MikeatHeartwoodConsultingdotnet wrote:

By all means, in every case, lose the damned Norway maple! This tree adds
nothing to the urban or suburban forest, and is nothing but a noxious
invader. I have never seen a Norway that could not have been replaced with a
better (usually native) species.

Our local community college (up here in Sussex County) has tons of
the damn things on the property. Some of the ones closer to the
academic halls STILL HAVE THEIR (partially) GREEN LEAVES (most native
trees lost their leaves around here over four WEEKS ago). I'm going
to recommend the school try & remove them, I don't think anyone's
brought it to their attention just yet.

The only major problem with removal would be erosion. The school is
built on a steep hill, and much of that is being held back by maple
roots.

Dan
nw NJ

The fact that these weeds keep their leaves so long is their only saving
grace: About mid-October I used to send my crews out to "...cut down all the
trees that still had their leaves on". Makes restoration ecology a tad
easier.

In all seriousness, the dense, shallow root mat does serve a decent soil
conservation function, but especially in Sussex Co. this could be as well
achieved with Sugar maple.
Go figure...

ML

--
Mike LaMana, MS CTE
Heartwood Consulting Services, LLC
Toms River, NJ
www.HeartwoodConsulting.net


"Dan" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 10:59:53 -0500, "Mike LaMana"
fake@MikeatHeartwoodConsultingdotnet wrote:

By all means, in every case, lose the damned Norway maple! This tree adds
nothing to the urban or suburban forest, and is nothing but a noxious
invader. I have never seen a Norway that could not have been replaced with
a
better (usually native) species.

Our local community college (up here in Sussex County) has tons of
the damn things on the property. Some of the ones closer to the
academic halls STILL HAVE THEIR (partially) GREEN LEAVES (most native
trees lost their leaves around here over four WEEKS ago). I'm going
to recommend the school try & remove them, I don't think anyone's
brought it to their attention just yet.

The only major problem with removal would be erosion. The school is
built on a steep hill, and much of that is being held back by maple
roots.

Dan
nw NJ