Do you wish to grow a spectacular Maple Tree on your property in Southern Ontario? Well, you will be immensely pleased to know that Canada is home to a vast array of striking Maple Trees that you can choose from. Read on to discover all the different types of Maple Trees in Southern Ontario that you can grow in your garden!
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There are more than 150 species of Maple Trees throughout the world. Most of these trees are native to Northern America, Eastern Asia, and other temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Maple Trees belong to the Acer genre. They can be shrubby, multi-stemmed, small-sized varieties or medium to tall-sized, stately trees.
Maple Trees are deciduous specimens prized for their stunning fall foliage. Most varieties have large, lobed leaves that develop flaming red, copper, orange, and yellow-orange hues that boost the attractiveness of these trees. They also have dense crowns that provide ample shade.
Moreover, the wood of these trees is straight-grained and light-hued. It is popularly used as plywood. Manufacturers use it for woodwork flooring, furniture, and other wooden objects. Maple Trees also produce clusters of pretty, red-hued, two-winged fruits known as samaras. These fruits are borne out of clusters of pendulous, small, greenish-yellow flowers. The syrup acquired from the sap of Maple Trees is used to produce Canada’s commercially popular maple syrup.
Many Maple Trees can reach the height and width of 30 to 70 feet. These specimens grow in and around dense forests, riverbanks, residential properties, and other landscapes. Most Maple varieties are quite easy to grow as they are hardy, drought-resistant trees. If you want these trees to thrive in your garden, make sure to provide them with bright, direct sunlight for at least 6 hours of the day and shaded light for the remainder of the day. Take care of their water and soil requirements as well.
Below are all the varied types of Maples Trees in Southern Ontario that you can grow in your garden. Some other varieties of trees commonly found in Southern Ontario are pine and oak.
1. Manitoba Maple (Acer Negundo)
Manitoba Maple is a unique, fast-growing Maple native to Canada. It grows up to a height of 30 to 50 feet and features a rounded, irregular crown. Since it has weak wood, it needs to be pruned regularly to maintain its form. Manitoba Maple features distinctively compound, Ash-like, odd-pinnate, medium green leaves that turn yellowish-green or yellow in fall. It grows greenish-yellow spring blooms that give way to abundant samaras. Manitoba thrives in full sun and medium to wet, free-draining soil.
2. Red Maple (Acer Rubrum)
Red Maple is an Eastern and Central North American native. This 40 to 70 feet tall tree features an oval to rounded, wide-spreading, 30 to 50 feet crown. This specimen is known as Red Maple thanks to its red or red-tinged emerging growths, such as twigs, leaves, leafstalks, fruits, and blooms. This deciduous, cold-hardy specimen thrives in full sun to part shade in slightly acidic, well-drained, moist soils. It has striking red fall foliage. Red Maple grows toothed, lobed, and medium to dark green leaves with green-gray undersides. It also features monoecious blooms and two-winged samaras.
3. Silver Maple (Acer Saccharinum)
Silver Maple is a large, fast-growing Maple Tree that is quite similar to the Red Maple, except for its pale yellow or brown fall foliage. It grows up to a height of 50 to 80 feet and has a spreading, open, and rounded crown. A young Silver Maple Tree has a smooth and gray bark that turns reddish-brown as the tree matures. It features light green, deeply lobed leaves with silver bottoms. It also grows clusters of greenish-yellow flowers and paired samaras. This tree grows well in full sun to part shade and moist, free-draining soils.
4. Striped Maple (Acer Pensylvanicum)
Striped Maple acer pensylvanicum stem 
Acer pensylvanicum
Striped Maple is an understory tree with a shrubby appearance. It grows up to a height of 15 to 25 feet and features an uneven but rounded crown. Thanks to its greenish bark and trunk sporting distinctive white stripes, this specimen is called Striped Maple Tree. It grows obovate, three-lobed, dark green, double-serrulate leaves that develop a bright yellow hue in fall. It also grows drooping clusters of small, yellow blooms. Striped Maple grows well in part shade in consistently moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soils.
5. Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum)
Sugar Maple is an Eastern North American tree that grows well in moist, slightly acidic, fertile, and free-draining soils in a sunlit area. This slow-growing, deciduous tree features a rounded, dense crown of 30 to 60 feet in width. The tree reaches a height of 40 to 80 feet. Sugar Maple grows medium green leaves and two-winged samaras. This specimen features yellow-orange fall foliage. Meanwhile, its name originates from its sugary maple sap used in making maple syrup. The Sugar Maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada.
