Tag Archives: Sugar Maples

Last Of The Falling Leaves

There are just a few Sugar Maple trees (Acer saccharum) up here in the woods around the cabin. Further up, in the higher elevations there are many many more. They’re the last ones to turn from their summery green to some warm autumn coloring and the last to drop those leaves turning the landscape into a winter wonderland, minus the snow, unless the weather gods cooperate.

That winter landscape, shades of black and white with year-round greens thrown in. Greens of pine, cedar, fir, and hemlock if those hemlocks are quite lucky. I’m a person that loves to work in color, but I also embrace the season with very little. Cover it with a thick layer of white snow, and I’m even happier.

Sugar Maple Trees

I spent a few days last week just north of Monterey, Highland County, Virginia. Pure heaven. This view is the backyard of the place where I stayed, and a grand old Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum). So many Sugar Maples there in the mountains.

Sugar Maples are native to eastern Canada and northeastern United States. And are plentiful in the upper elevations of my mountain.

Autumn is a great season to find them, glowing. In this image they’re accented by the dark undulating trunks of Sassafras trees.

Of the 132 species in the genus Acer, which are the Maples, the tree with one of the longest lifespans is the Sugar Maple which can live for 200 to 400 years.

Given the Sugar Maple’s long life it can grow to be quite large. One of the largest known is 124 feet tall and a diameter of 18 feet, though in normal forest conditions they can reach a height of 70 to 110 feet and a diameter at breast height (4.5 feet from the ground) of 2 to 3 feet. I’ve not found any here at this elevation and planted a few several years ago. I’m looking forward to seeing them get mighty tall with a nice diameter.