Our property ( Princeton, B.C. altitude 2000 ft) has several 50 ft - 100 ft Ponderosa pines that are not going to survive due to the mountain pine beetle. The woodpeckers have ripped off almost all of the bark. I would like to replace the trees with a fast growing large species of Maple . The problem is to find a website that will identify specific types of the tree that will survive ZONE 2 and tips etc on the care of it. Any help would be appreciated . I'm new to this website and find it very interesting - thank you all , Clarence
For zone 2 and for the same conditions that Pinus ponderosa grows in, your options are fairly limited. I think the only possibility is Amur maple (Acer ginnala). There are other zone 2 maples, like Acer negundo, but I suspect they'd prefer a different environment than what is available in Princeton. I'll leave folks with more expertise to confirm or suggest other possibilities. To get ideas of alternatives, you might also like to browse through this site (pages 3 through 11): Jeffries Nursery in Manitoba. This isn't a recommendation in any way - just that it's a site that has a good compilation of hardy trees.
If it's quite dry in that spot--as it often is where Pinus ponderosa grows--maples will not be very successful. Even interior native Acer negundo occurs primarily along streams, as do cottonwoods and willows. You may have to try another genus. What is growing with the pines already?
I doubt you can find a fast growing Maple for your climate. There are other Maples you can try to grow other than the ones Daniel mentioned but they will have to be babied until they become established, which will take longer for you than they will for most areas. You are a little too cold, a little too dry and you are basically in a foothill location which tells me of some soil limitations. If you are insistent upon having Maples I can give you some ideas but web sites in how to grow them on will be sparse at best to be grown in your area. I think Ron's hinted suggestion is best that we look more towards native plants or plants that can better adapt to your location. With the Maples you will have to supplement water and should not rely solely upon natural rainfall. With the soil more than likely being frozen for any time you will probably also have to compensate for the cold with a mulch of some kind to help ward off some the cold for any tender and young root systems. Jim
What about Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum)? BC native, and should be reasonably fast when young, tho' it does like moist soil.
Request was for 'fast growing large'. While it has grown tall in NW Washington, Acer glabrum is most often a small tree--especially in the interior.
There are other Maples that can be used but the main question is how are they going to be taken care of? The books and online sources do not prepare people for the natural elements that can wipe these plants out in less than one growing season. Some of the Maples will require lots of moisture until they have had a chance to adapt and for this area that can take as long as 5 years and more to accomplish and this is with trees about 5-7 years old to start out. Overly small one gallon sized Maples with undeveloped root systems are not recommended, at least not by me for this location, unless we plan on losing a few of them and there is the risk that all but a couple can be lost relatively soon, within two years. Aside from moisture being an issue, fast drainage but with some water holding capacity is another major concern as some of the species Maples that may in time adapt to this location do not like having their "feet" saturated for long periods of time. Foothill areas can have what appears to be fast drainage yet around the roots is standing water once the water hits solid granite for example, which can enable root rots to rear their ugly head. In the more cold tolerant species Maples grown in a challenged location for them if the cold temperatures, biting winds and the frozen ground do not kill them, the root rots and our neglect will so we have a delicate balance we have to play with. So we have to know in advance that we are probably going to lose some of these Maples until we better learn what we have to do to grow these plants in a setting they will not be happy with at the outset but can learn to accept the growing and climatic conditions as long as we do our jobs to help them along. As of right now fast growing Maples is just an afterthought as we need Maples that can grow and adapt to these conditions and there will not be many of them to choose from that can handle about a 13-14 week growing season, although there are several Maples the books tell us can grow in this zone based on cold temperatures but that information is from people that have never really tried to grow those Maples in these conditions with such a small time allotment to maneuver in. One or two survivors found living in a zone 2 does not constitute that a Silver, Vine, Norway, Sugar, Sycamore, Hedge, David's and Paperbark Maples can handle these conditions without some losses, even with us taking into account any necessary growing precautions. We can help give the Maples a better chance to grow but they will not thrive in these conditions at this location. Jim
I really have a difficult time with this location being Z2, especially since Pinus ponderosa is thought to be hardy to Z3-4. An elevation of 2000 feet, not metres, does not seem that cold at that latitude. Is there some source with which you can confirm the hardiness zone? See: hardiness zone map of Canada: http://nlwis-snite1.agr.gc.ca/plant00/index.phtml. Z3 opens up the possibilities just a bit for maples, and Z4 definitely gets a bit more exciting. However, important considerations there are 1) wind factor; 2) amount of sun 3) water retention of the soil; and 4) deer and elk. You are in the foothills of the Rockies? My dad lives in the foothills of the Sawtooths in Z4, where the elk are in charge and the soil is basically a sieve. A Douglas fir, a couple of Engelman spruce, and lots of ponderosa pines are present. Even with deer net fencing, I would have no desire to plant maples, or anything but native wildflowers, in that soil. I am challenged planting a variety of maples at my moms at 3000 in Z6, but we are contending with incredibly dry winds and summers with temperatures often above 100. Why do you want fast growing maples? Are you trying to get multi-purpose trees wind-break, shade, seasonal privacy, and beauty all at once? On another note, is it possible to leave the ponderosas as snags? The pileated woodpeckers, juncos, and others will continue to visit.
