Bigtooth maple

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; afternoon shade is helpful in hot, dry gardens.

Water

Water regularly while establishing; established trees tolerate seasonal drought but benefit from occasional deep watering during prolonged dry spells.

Soil

Well-drained loam, clay loam or rocky soil; tolerates alkaline and limestone-based soils. Avoid waterlogged ground.

Height

20-30 ft (6-9 m), occasionally 40-50 ft (12-15 m) in favourable conditions

Spread

20-30 ft (6-9 m)

Flowers

Small yellow-green flowers in spring, opening with or just before the leaves.

Foliage

Opposite, green leaves with three to five lobes and large, blunt teeth; autumn colour ranges from yellow to orange and red.

Growth

Slow to moderate

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   9 ft (2.6 m)

5. After 5 years

   10 ft (3.1 m)

About 26 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant with the root flare at soil level, leaving room for the mature crown.
• Water deeply during dry weather for the first two or three growing seasons; let the surface soil begin to dry between soakings.
• Spread 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of organic mulch over the root area, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Avoid routine feeding; use a soil test before applying fertiliser to a poorly growing tree.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in the wind, and remove supports after establishment.

Pruning. Make necessary shaping cuts in midsummer, removing crossing branches and poorly attached competing leaders while they are small. Remove dead or damaged wood when noticed; avoid topping and heavy pruning.

Autumn

Plant while the soil is workable, allowing time for roots to establish before severe cold.

Late winter

Check young trunks, ties and branches for rubbing or storm damage.

Spring

Refresh mulch and check soil moisture as new leaves open.

Early summer

Inspect leaves for aphids and watch for wilting or scorched margins during dry weather.

Midsummer

Carry out light structural pruning if needed.

Late autumn

Water young trees before the ground freezes if autumn has been dry.

• Use as a small shade tree over a lawn or seating area, allowing space for its broad crown.
• Place against evergreen shrubs to make its autumn foliage stand out.
• Combine with drought-tolerant grasses and perennials in a western woodland-edge planting.
• Grow as a multistemmed specimen in an informal garden, retaining its natural branching.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Autumn colour, Mountain lodge, Southwestern, Wildlife garden and Modern rustic.

Plant it with: Gambel oak, Utah serviceberry, Mountain mahogany, Creeping Oregon grape, Little bluestem and Rocky Mountain penstemon.

Wildlife: Flowers provide early food for visiting insects, and the seeds are eaten by some birds and small mammals. The crown offers shelter and nesting sites.

• Leaf scorch: dry roots, hot wind or reflected heat can brown leaf margins; water deeply, mulch and avoid planting beside heat-reflecting paving in hot climates.
• Aphids: colonies may produce sticky honeydew; rinse reachable foliage with water and protect natural predators rather than using broad-spectrum insecticides.
• Verticillium wilt: sudden branch dieback can indicate this soilborne disease; seek a diagnosis, remove dead branches and replace badly affected trees with a resistant species.
• Root decline in wet soil: poor drainage or deep planting can cause persistent wilting and dieback; correct drainage and expose a buried root flare where practical.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats or dogs. Safety for horses is not well established for this species; do not assume its leaves or seeds are safe forage, as some other maples cause serious poisoning in horses.

• Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

  Very closely related and sometimes treated within the same species. Sugar maple generally has larger leaves with longer, more pointed lobes; bigtooth maple has coarser, blunter teeth and is usually a smaller tree.

• Norway maple (Acer platanoides)

  Norway maple usually has sharply pointed leaf lobes and releases milky sap from a freshly broken leaf stalk; bigtooth maple has clear sap.

• Field maple (Acer campestre)

  Field maple has smaller, rounded-lobed leaves and may develop corky ridges on young branches; its broken leaf stalks release milky sap.

The species name grandidentatum means large-toothed, referring to the coarse teeth along the leaf margins.

Propagation. Grow from seed sown outdoors in autumn and protected from rodents. Germination can be slow and uneven because seed dormancy varies; some seeds may take more than one season to emerge. Named selections are usually grafted.

Accepted botanical name

Acer grandidentatum

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Measured

Soil pH 3.7 to 7.9. Average height 1100 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.