I planted 6' emerald cedars across the backyard, 3 feet apart and 3 feet from the fence. I really need more height for privacy. Can I plant a few Crimson King Maples between the fence and the cedars? There seems to be room I can easily walk between the cedars and the fence and none of the cedars are touching yet. I was thinking with the skinny trunk on the maples this might be ok, I see them at Can. Tire and they are quite tall - maybe 15 feet. Or are the cedars going to cause the soil to be too acidic
Maples are tolerant of acid in the soil. My biggest concern is that the Crimson Kings will outgrow the site and long term the planting placement is not sustainable. In my area they grow 35-40' high and 35' wide. It will look really nice for the first couple of years, but it will not work long term in my opinion. The other concern is lighting and moisture. The Crimson King canopy can be quite dense as they grow larger creating heavy shade underneath. The competition for moisture will become very high creating a very dense dry shade area.
In addition to previously stated concerns Norway maple is a pest species on some wooded sites here and very many sites back East. Numbers of seedlings may appear in the garden as well. And in this area many plantings develop a significant aphid drip during the summer, making the trees look oiled and anything beneath them sooty. At least two 'Crimson King' over 50' tall are known in Seattle.
