And despite their swampy native habitat, they thrive in well-drained, average landscape conditions. Swamp red maples are readily available at area nurseries and garden centers. The leaves are silvery on the back, and the females produce an unusually large and ornamental winged fruit ranging in color from burgundy to rusty red hanging from the bare branches in January and February. This maple is particularly well-adapted to poor drainage. The Drummond or swamp red maple, Acer rubrum var. Red maples ( Acer rubrum) are native across the eastern United States. But it ages poorly and does not produce a quality shade tree the wood is brittle, and it self-seeds prolifically. Box elder has unique compound leaves and grows wild in swamps. It does better in north Louisiana than south Louisiana, but it tends to be short-lived the wood is brittle and prone to breakage, and the tree is susceptible to squirrel damage and a variety of fungal wood rots. The silver maple is sometime recommended and planted when a fast-growing shade tree is desired. Some maples you should generally avoid are the silver maple ( Acer saccharinum) and box elder ( Acer negundo). Now through February is a great time to plant them. Although we can’t grow the sugar maples that produce that delicious syrup here in Louisiana, a wonderful variety of maples can be used as shade trees and ornamentals in our landscapes. Among my favorite dishes for breakfast is a stack of hot, buttered pancakes drowning in maple syrup.

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