Can You Top a Silverleaf Maple?

Silver Maple Problems

• Silver maple is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones 3 through 9. The tree grows quickly to 50 to 70 feet tall. Silver maple's fast growth makes its wood weaker than the wood of many slower growing trees. Also, silver maple's upright branching makes the branch unions weak. Combine those two factors and you have a tree that readily splits or drops large limbs during high wind. Adding to the silver maple blues is the fact that the tree's many fine feeder roots can invade and clog plumbing lines.

Topping Problems

• Topping is the practice of shortening the main branches of a grown tree to make the branches smaller. The large wounds that result from topping expose the tree to disease and insect damage. Removing the leafy canopy deprives the tree of photosynthesis and exposes its bark to harsh sunlight. The vertical branches -- suckers -- that grow from the shortened limbs are thin and weak, making them even more vulnerable to splitting.

Alternative Technique

• Instead of topping, remove damaged and weak branches all the way to the silver maple's trunk or a main branch. If you must reduce the size of a mature tree, drop-crotch it: Cut branches back to outward- and upward-facing lateral branches. A branch left behind should be at least one-third the diameter of the removed branches. Controlling a silver maple's growth with drop-crotching may require repeating the procedure about every third year.

Pruning and Tree Selection Tips

• Prevention is worth a pound of cure. When starting from scratch, choose a tree with a mature size that doesn't exceed the space you intend to give it. If you have a silver maple that is still small or medium-sized, start a program of drop-crotch pruning early in its life to keep its size in check. By pruning that way, the tree will still increase in size but more slowly than it would naturally. If you want a fast-growing tree that doesn't have the weaknesses of silver maple, consider planting northern red oak (Quercus rubra) or tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Both of those trees are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9.