Norway maples

[RC Maple]

A couple of years ago I came across a couple of trees that when I saw them I thought they were sugar maples. The first was a nice 4 ft or so sapling that was growing next to a loading dock. I knew it would only get torn out there so I got as much of the roots to come out with it as I could and brought it home and planted it. That was in August or September and it struggled along til it finally lost all its leaves. The next spring sure enough it leafed out and has looked healthy and been growing since. The second of the trees is smaller but the story is similar. Neither looked exactly like most sugar maples but when I saw them initially they sure looked like it. Their buds tell me they are Norways. When I read about Norway maples I see that they are an invasive species that it is recommended they be eliminated if you have them growing in your woods. The last thing I wanted to do was plant trees in the woods that tend to out compete sugar maples. Does anyone here that comes across Norways get rid of them or are you just happy to have another maple in the woods?

[JTripp]

They are not really preferred for sap production , they got there hold here as a quick growing urban tree and were tolerant of pollution. I do see where they say they are invasive as a grove tree and are not preferred there.

Interestingly enough I see ..
A. platanoides has been shown to inhibit the growth of native saplings as a canopy tree or as a sapling.[15] The Norway maple also suffers less herbivory than the sugar maple, allowing it to gain a competitive advantage against the latter species.[17]

As a result of these characteristics, it is considered invasive in some states,[18] and has been banned in New Hampshire[19] and Massachusetts.[20][21] The State of New York has classified it as an invasive plant species.[22]

The Norway maple is one of three species Meijer Garden Centers no longer sell; Meijer made this decision due to the tree's invasive nature.[23] Despite these steps, the species is still available and widely used for urban plantings in many areas.

[RC Maple]

I don't believe there are many around here. I have a neighbor with one in her yard that was big enough to tap. I tapped it two years ago but barely got anything out of it. There must be enough around though that I found two small ones and mistook them for sugars - both were in town growing in areas that they would eventually be pulled out. I didn't question what they were until they were leafless and the buds seemed different. I worked at keeping them alive when I transplanted them but I don't know that I will leave them there knowing what I know about them.

[3GoatHill]

We have about a two acre section of nothing else but Norways. Not much grows under them, probably because they leaf out way before anything else does. They gave us a lot of sap that averaged just under 2 1/4% If that's all you have, tap them! They make good syrup. But to answer your question, yes. As part of our management program we get rid of any seedlings, saplings and ones that are in the way or poles and we replace them with natives. By my observations they are in fact invasive. I guess they serve a purpose as a street tree but in my opinion they shouldn't be in the forest. One way to tell a Norway from the "good" maples; pull off a leaf, break the stem and squeeze it. The Norway is the only maple that will have a milky white looking sap that comes from the leaf stems.

[Michael Greer]

I hate them. I tap a few in the neighbors yard but the yield is poor and spotty. Some years I've not gotten a drop. They tend to split in really cold weather, and break during summer wind storms.

[NhShaun]

I was wondering the same thing, I have several very large Norways in my front yard that i wanted to tap. I suppose it wouldn't hurt, since they are so close. I'll just make sure to kill there children haha.

[RC Maple]

One way to tell a Norway from the "good" maples; pull off a leaf, break the stem and squeeze it. The Norway is the only maple that will have a milky white looking sap that comes from the leaf stems.

I did try to ID one of the trees I transplanted this way finally. Nothing really come out of the squeezed stem but the end did seem milky and white. The stem of a sugar maple leaf did not. I need to get those two transplanted trees pulled out. I worked at keeping them going when I transplanted them and I haven't brought myself to finish them off yet.

[NhShaun]

I worked at keeping them going when I transplanted them and I haven't brought myself to finish them off yet. Have you done the deed yet? haha

[RC Maple]

No, the deed hasn't been done. Hasn't been at the top of the list I guess. I have had Asian honeysuckle growing in the woods since I've had it and have been working on getting rid of that. At least that's my excuse.