It is Amur Maple seed time. The squirrels are going bonkers. The seeds are all over the sidewalk and the lawn. Can’t say I mind. Aren’t those colors gorgeous?
I hope the squirrels eat a lot!!! Come spring, they are all over in the rock as little tiny forests of germinated baby Amur Maple seeds. They are, indeed, invasive.
At the little house up north we have an Amur Maple. I’d know them anywhere. The blooms in spring are delightful. I wish I could bottle that scent! The color is magnificent in fall. And they throw seeds like crazy. Which is why I have a mixed relationship with the Amur Maple in our front yard at the townhouse https://susansdailygarden.wordpress.com/2020/05/24/bonus-free-nail-filing/
I had plans to cut down the Amur Maple in our back yard. It looks like it has seen better days. It is lopsided, and looks more like a bush than a tree.
I don’t know. How much trouble can a lopsided bush sized sweet spring flowering tree cause? Maybe I can trim it. Maybe the seedlings will not be an issue in the spring because our lawn is old and sports lots of different volunteers. Maybe seedlings will not be an issue because there is no garden back there. Wait! Will there not be a garden back there?
It appears the Amur Maple shrub tree will survive one more year. I need to do more research & analysis.
I would know them anywhere. Their spring flowers have a delicious scent, and their fall seed pods are beautiful. They are also invasive. The seeds, if they don’t get eaten by the squirrels, sprout seedlings each spring by the hundreds, maybe thousands – not kidding. I pluck them out of the gardens by hand each year. Each year there are 7+ buckets. Hours of work.
We have the one at the townhouse, and … we have an Amur Maple at the little reno house up north.
What to do? I think it needs to go. It is scrubby, about 4′ tall, and leans like crazy. Nevertheless, I will be sad on removal day.
The replacement will be birch transplants. MUCH more manageable.