When do maple trees drop their seeds

This spring, I began to worry about my several large maple trees throughout our yard. They just did not look as healthy, leaves were not filling out everywhere and it looked like there were a lot of dead leaves still hanging on from last fall.

Upon further inspection, I saw that the “leaves” were actually thousands of maple samaras, or seed pods.

Bert Cregg and Tom Dudek, both with Michigan State University’s Departments of Horticulture and Forestry, respectively, wrote the following on another recent samara explosion back in 2012:

More commonly referred to as “helicopters,” “whirlers,” “twisters” or “whirligigs,” samaras are the winged seeds produced by maple trees. All maples produce samaras, but red, silver and Norway maples often produce the largest quantities.

Over the next few weeks, these seeds will rain down on lawns, decks, roofs and gutters in many locations. These can become a nuisance, especially if they clog gutters and downspouts, or germinate in garden beds.

Homeowners and landscapers may also notice that heavy crops of samaras can make the upper portion of maple tree canopies look sparse. When trees put a great amount of resources into seed production, leaf production takes a back seat and trees look sparser than normal. However, with adequate moisture and normal summer temperatures, most people will not notice this by late June as trees will continue normal leaf development.

The main reason for the heavy seed crop in 2012 goes back to stressed growing conditions in 2011, which helped produce above average flower bud numbers. Unlike the fruit tree crops, the timing and severity of our late freezes managed to miss the maple seed crop. This type of issue is often present in commercial fruit tree orchards and is termed “alternate bearing,” with some years a light crop of fruit and others being a heavy crop year.

This year’s heavy samara crop could be a result of several conditions. It may be effects from the drought in 2012, the hard winter in 2014, or it may just be a regular rotation year for the tree to produce excess seed.

As noted, heavy seeding should not pose an issue for long-term tree health, but homeowners should be ready to rake, sweep and pull maple seedlings over the next few weeks.

Elysia RODGERS is the agriculture and natural resources director for the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service in DeKalb County.

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   Yes, it's true. Reds drop seeds in the spring and sugars/blacks in late summer and fall. I believe silvers also produce and drop their seeds in the spring. All maples produce them. They are seeds and a way the trees repopulate themselves. The shape of the "helicopters", technically called samara, are distinctive to each species of maple and can be used to ID the tree species. A good tree field guide should give info on time of seed drop. It is different for each type of maple.

   �A sap-run is the sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.�

   ~John Burroughs, "Signs and Seasons", 1886

   backyard mapler since 2006 using anything to get the job done from wood stove to camp stove to even crockpots.
   2012- moved up to a 2 pan block arch
   2013- plan to add another hotel pan and shoot for 5-6 gallons
   Thinking small is best for me so probably won't get any bigger.

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   My red maples have only dropped seeds 4 times since 1998, they usually bud early then we get a hard freeze, they never produce seeds when they reset after a freeze! Some years we can have a heavy seed crop on our sugars/black maples, some years not hardly any seeds. I don't have a clue why that happens. Maybe due to spring freezing also?

   Mark 220 Maple

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5. 

   

   Originally Posted by 220 maple

   

   My red maples have only dropped seeds 4 times since 1998, they usually bud early then we get a hard freeze, they never produce seeds when they reset after a freeze! Some years we can have a heavy seed crop on our sugars/black maples, some years not hardly any seeds. I don't have a clue why that happens. Maybe due to spring freezing also?

   Mark 220 Maple

   The weather probably plays a large part just like a late freeze can affect fruit production. But I have to wonder if something else like alternate bearing is also going on. That's the tendency of some trees to produce heavy crops some years and minimal crops in others. Many fruit trees display this as do oaks --> acorns. Some biologists believe it's a tree's way of outwitting the animals that depend on the crop for survival while conserving its own nutrient resources. Bearing fruit/seeds takes a lot of resources. Only producing large crops some years means large predator numbers are not supported in the off years. That allows more seeds to survive and go on to eventual germination in years that crops are heavy.

   �A sap-run is the sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.�

   ~John Burroughs, "Signs and Seasons", 1886

   backyard mapler since 2006 using anything to get the job done from wood stove to camp stove to even crockpots.
   2012- moved up to a 2 pan block arch
   2013- plan to add another hotel pan and shoot for 5-6 gallons
   Thinking small is best for me so probably won't get any bigger.

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6. 

   Last year was a big seed year for the sugar maples here in St. Lawrence County New York. In my woods, and in the lawn and flower beds, the seedlings are growing like grass...several per square inch..it's pretty amazing. If I didn't mow my lawn this summer it would be too thick to walk through in a couple of years.

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   Originally Posted by Michael Greer

   

   Last year was a big seed year for the sugar maples here in St. Lawrence County New York. In my woods, and in the lawn and flower beds, the seedlings are growing like grass...several per square inch..it's pretty amazing. If I didn't mow my lawn this summer it would be too thick to walk through in a couple of years.

   I just came from a corn field that was fallow last year and just down wind from our sugar bush -- there are thousands of two leaf maples sprouted. I'm wondering if this could be the start of an orchard using the Proctor method?

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   Brian

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8. 

   

   Originally Posted by Michael Greer

   

   Last year was a big seed year for the sugar maples here in St. Lawrence County New York. In my woods, and in the lawn and flower beds, the seedlings are growing like grass...several per square inch..it's pretty amazing. If I didn't mow my lawn this summer it would be too thick to walk through in a couple of years.

   Same thing in Lanark County in Eastern Ontario. A very heavy seed crop last fall - and because of that one of the more experienced producers I know correctly forecasted the poor sugar content we got this spring. Hopefully the deer browse the young maples and not the apple trees I'm trying to get established.

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