Hi Everyone! About 6 years ago I relocated to the Andes Mountains in Colombia, a beautiful lush region ("city of eternal spring") at 2300 meters where the temperature is between 23C and 14C all-year long and there are no seasons. I have been able to grow North American trees here from seedlings, most recently chestnut trees, and am about to try my hand at growing the Sugar Maple. I am just about to get started. I would like to ask a rather mundane question. Has anyone on this forum ever had success, or know someone who has had success, planting maples here in Colombia where there are no seasons? Since we typically associated these lovely trees with the four seasons, I wonder quite simply if the tree grows and blossoms, whether it would keep its leafs all-year-round or if it would shed them. Thank you!
Hi Michael, How nice it is to see a post from your lovely area of the world. I can't give you any specific advice from experience, but I would doubt very much that Sugar Maple (A. saccharum) would keep its leaves, but then again I don't think you're going to see much fall colors either. I would be very wary of letting it get too wet (wet feet I mean) during the dormant period; I've noted here where it doesn't freeze too much, saccharum plus standing water is a recipe for disaster. Still it is certainly possible to grow it in areas without a cold winter. I wonder if you could try some of the southern US sugar maples like saccharum ssp floridanum, ssp leucoderne, or the fabulous A. saccharum ssp skutchii which grows in Guatemala. -Emery
Thank you for the response! Yes, it is wonderful to live in the "city of eternal spring" (also sometimes called the "city of flowers"). There is an incredibly diverse ecosystem here with beautiful plants, flowers and trees. But I still miss my maples! I appreciate the response. I am going to give this a try and will post pictures and information as things progress.
