Box Elder Maple Tree (Acer Negundo) – 1 Gallon Pot

Height at Maturity:  35-50′

Width at Maturity:  35-50′

Spacing:  30-35′ apart for screens; 60’+ apart for space between trees; space trees at least 30′ from a driveway 

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Maintenance / Care:  Low

Acer negundo, commonly known as Box Elder Maple or Ash Leaf Maple, is a very fast-growing and easy-to-grow North American native tree that typically grows from 30 to 50 feet tall and equally as wide, which is big enough for a good shade tree. It will grow in almost any type of soil, wet or dry, even wet soils along streams and other bodies of water, making it a good choice for difficult areas where other trees won’t grow. With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii, it will grow in almost every state in the U.S., even North Dakota where deciduous trees usually won’t grow. Although it is a maple, it differs from most other species in that it has odd-pinnate compound leaves, each with 3 to 5 toothed leaflets, resembling those of ash trees. The leaves are a light to medium green through the warm season turning to shades of yellow and/or orange in the fall. Samaras are pale yellow, in long drooping clusters, that appear in the fall.

The name Box Elder came from the use of its woos for making wooden boxes and crates. Plains Indians made sugar from the sap, when sugar was scarce and Prairie settlers sometimes tapped this tree to make maple syrup.