Silver Maple Not Dropping Leaves . . .?

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sherriseden Bloomington, IN(Zone 6a) Nov 16, 2010

Does anyone know why one of two of my silver maples would hang onto its leaves? My other silver and others in the neighborhood have all dropped theirs. Is this a sign of senescence? Two things happened to it this year that are different: 1) carpenter ants started going into a hole. We treated and they went away. 2) It was limbed up. But the other one was pruned, too and it's shedding leaves as per normal.

I really love this tree. It provides wonderful shade and it's beautiful.

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Nov 27, 2010

Could just be a fluke. Are the leaves still green, or yellow, or brown? Is the tree is a drier location than the other one?

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sherriseden Bloomington, IN(Zone 6a) Nov 27, 2010

Actually, Hoosier, it finally dropped it's leaves - about 2 and 1/2 weeks later than the other! Yes, it's in a drier location because there is a cement patio on one side (ours) and a driveway on the other (neighbor's). Never thought of that - thanks! And thank you for caring enough about it to answer . . . most folks hear "Silver Maple" and think "Hmmm . . . it's a big weed . . . why would she care?" But I love it!

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Nov 28, 2010

Glad it worked out for you... and the tree! I've noticed that silver maples in drier locations, especially in dry years such as this one, often hang on to their leaves later than normal. Don't know if it's peculiar to silver maples or what, but they eventually drop their leaves, just as yours did.

BTW, the two largest trees on my property before we built were silver maple, and (even worse) a mulberry. The mulberry became firewood, but the silver maple, with some careful pruning of lower and crossing limbs now shades the sunroom in the summer. The only problem with it are those &%$@$ helicopter seeds that in some years absolutely cover the ground in June. The bonus is that most years, Baltimore orioles nest in this silver maple, way out at the very tip of a branch. The sight of this pair of birds is worth raking up the seeds, for sure.

Happy gardening!

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