Detailed information on Boxelder, Box Elder Maple, Manitoba Maple Acer negundo

/Home/Garden Basics/Trees/Types of Trees/Maple Trees/Box Elder Maple Trees

Family: Aceraceae (ay-ser-AY-see-ee) (Info)
Genus: Acer (AY-ser) (Info)
Species: negundo (neg-UN-doh) (Info)

Synonym:Acer negundo var. negundo
Synonym:Negundo aceroides

aaaaaa

2 vendors have this plant for sale.

Category:
Trees

Height:
30-40 ft. (9-12 m)

Spacing:
20-30 ft. (6-9 m)

Hardiness:
USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 °C (-30 °F)
USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 °C (-25 °F)
USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 °C (-20 °F)
USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F)
USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 °C (-5 °F)
USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F)
USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F)
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F)

Sun Exposure:
Full Sun
Sun to Partial Shade

Danger:
N/A

Bloom Color:
Chartreuse (Yellow-Green)

Bloom Time:
Mid Spring
Late Spring/Early Summer

Foliage:
Deciduous

Other details:
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Requires consistently moist soil; do not let dry out between waterings

Soil pH requirements:
6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic)
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)

Patent Information:
Non-patented

Propagation Methods:
From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall

Seed Collecting:
Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds


By activex
Thumbnail #1 of Acer negundo by activex

By PotEmUp
Thumbnail #2 of Acer negundo by PotEmUp

By ocimum_nate
Thumbnail #3 of Acer negundo by ocimum_nate

By Jeff_Beck
Thumbnail #4 of Acer negundo by Jeff_Beck

By Jeff_Beck
Thumbnail #5 of Acer negundo by Jeff_Beck

By Jeff_Beck
Thumbnail #6 of Acer negundo by Jeff_Beck

By melody
Thumbnail #7 of Acer negundo by melody

There are a total of 24 photos.
Click here to view them all!
Profile:

3 positives
7 neutrals
5 negatives

Gardeners' Notes:
Rating Author Comment
Negative marzieo On May 16, 2009, marzieo from East Syracuse, NY wrote:

Nasty little weed tree, and hard to eliminate because it drops so many seeds. Hubby and I have spent nearly 2 years getting rid of every seedling and young tree we can find on our property. Not very hardy during storms either, due to the soft wood - we just had a large limb from one crack and drop on our roof. Avoid this "tree" if at all possible.
Negative RosemaryA On May 8, 2009, RosemaryA from Toronto, ON (Zone 5b) wrote:

In southern Ontario, Acer negundo is considered seriously invasive. See http://www.serontario.org/pdfs/exotics.pdf (PDF). If you live in southern Ontario, please do not plant this tree.
Positive karams On Nov 12, 2008, karams from Cleveland, OH wrote:

I bought my house in NE Ohio because I fell in love with the box elder maple tree in the front yard. What a glorious, reliable and strong tree it proved to be. This past summer, it survived the Sunday evening Hurricane Ike winds (excess of 70 mph for 7 hours) but our arborist warned that it was rotted and dead in the trunk. He took the tree down last week - there was ZERO ROT in the trunk. The tree was not dead. The stump measures 42" across. I am still crying. Despite being highly allergic to this tree, I loved mine and feel like a failure for having it removed based on an arborist's incorrect diagnosis. According to the rings in the stump, the tree was over 85 years old - in it's golden years, but not dead yet.
Neutral Joanmaree On Jul 10, 2007, Joanmaree from Norwood, NY wrote:

I have quite a few of these weedy trees growing along my property line. From experience I know that once cut down this tree will produce many suckers from the stump.
Positive jkshaw On Jul 5, 2007, jkshaw from Lewiston, UT wrote:

This wonderful tree, a male box elder, was planted as a sapling in 1875 by the original settler, Niels Bergeson, while the family was still living in a dugout on the cut bank below it, and while the house, above, was being built. Though we have other, female box elders which host the box elder bug scattered on the hillside above and in a pasture we own below us, this tree does not host them. Moreover, the bug is not particularly damaging to either the plant nor the house. We have accepted them as part of life here.

Six days ago, during the hot, still early afternoon, an enormous limb spontaneously dropped. I understand this phenomenon is not uncommon and has something to do with heat and moisture. Our tree man, Mark Malmstrom, is going to give the box elder a gentle pruning, trimming back the longer limbs, especially the horizontal ones. He will also cable one of them. Mark cabled three of its limbs in 2001, not, however, the one that dropped.

Many children and grandchildren and friends' children have enjoyed climbing and swinging on this tree which has become part of our family.
Neutral frostweed On Aug 31, 2006, frostweed from Arlington, TX (Zone 8a) wrote:

Acer negundo var. negundo is Native to Texas and other States.
Positive ViburnumValley On Jul 2, 2006, ViburnumValley from Scott County, KY (Zone 5b) wrote:

Boxelder maple is a native pioneer species across a broad swath of North America, and finds a pretty permanent home in boggy or floodplain soils. It is a prolific seed producer, which are a favorite food source of some migrating birds. Planted out in a home landscape creates some difficulties, but used in naturalized areas or in restoring habitats, it is an excellent choice that will establish with little or no assistance.
Negative treeguy15 On May 24, 2006, treeguy15 from trenton, Canada wrote:

This tree grows everywere in my yard. They are very suckery trees and they are very weak. Before we had a tropical depression and a large branch broke and hit my shed and damaged it in only 40 mph winds. They are growing in my large juniper and in my lilacs and they are going to cause problems. These trees are so weedy.
Neutral tishbet On May 1, 2006, tishbet from Toronto, Canada wrote:

I'm rating this neutral as I'm not sure of an outcome yet.
I live in downtown Toronto, Ontario and I have what appears to be a box elder sprouting just behind my back garden fence. There's a retaining wall at the bottom of my garden, with an approximate 7-8 foot drop to the neighbouring garden. Based on photograph ID I think it's a female. I'm actually hoping to get some feedback on it as this has not been planted purposely, and I'm wondering what the positive/negative traits are.
I'm planning to eventually install a privacy fence to replace the dilapidated, broken down wire fencing that's there (I just moved in last fall) as well as landscaping the area, so I'm wondering if this tree could potentially damage any work done. It's not directly on my property but spreads over into it and is close enough to my property line that the roots could spread into my garden.
Thanks in advance!
Negative bagpypr On Dec 16, 2004, bagpypr from Redlands, CA (Zone 10a) wrote:

Be very careful when planting this particular maple especially A. negundo " Flamingo" as they are invasive in warm climates and VERY brittle. I work in a windy little town called Fontana and these trees are always snapping off major limbs in the wind. Very fast growing as are the suckers and seeds.-Bagpypr
Neutral kerrykugelman On Aug 10, 2004, kerrykugelman from La Crescenta, CA wrote:

I just planted 3 boxelder cultivars ("Flamingo") on the parking strip along the street, and so far so good. Many sites indicate that the native boxelder is prone to many downside issues, but the cultivars are not. I just want to mention that in defense of the variety, since the "naturally occurring" plants do indeed have some negatives (roots, bugs, fragility). I'm in So.Calif, and will keep an eye on how these do with water needs as well. Thank you for reading!
Negative melody On Jul 1, 2004, melody from Benton, KY (Zone 7a) wrote:

Weak wooded and untidy trees that grow quickly in the most inconvienient places.

They start to shed their leaves almost as soon as they get budded out well. They produce an extraordinary amount of seeds with an amazing germination rate. Seedlings pop up everywhere. The wood is weak, so they tend to break frequently in storms. Boxelders are also hosts to quite a few insects also.

Do not plant near houses where the leaves and limbs can get in the gutters and the roots will fill your sewer lines.
Neutral smiln32 On Apr 16, 2004, smiln32 from Oklahoma City, OK (Zone 7a) wrote:

Box elder is a fast-growing, weak-wooded, suckering, medium-sized, deciduous tree that typically grows 30-50’ (less frequently to 70’) tall with an irregular rounded crown. It is widely distributed throughout the U.S. The name box elder (sometimes boxelder) is in reference to a use of the wood for making crates and boxes and the supposed similarity of the leaves to those of elder (Sambucus). Leaves also resemble those of some ashes, hence the additional common name of ash-leaved maple.
Neutral Kwmsf On Mar 20, 2002, Kwmsf from Clifford, MI (Zone 5a) wrote:

This tree is considered to be "weedy" but it is fast growing and survives in poor conditions. Be careful planting it next to homes as it is prone to storm breakage and the female tree attracts Box Elder bugs
Neutral activex On Feb 2, 2002, activex wrote:

The Boxelder (Acer negundo), is often called Ashleaf Maple by some old-timers. This tree can be tapped for its sweet syrup, but is not commercially used anymore since the preference for Sugar Maple syrup is more abundant.

What to look for: Leaves are 6-15 inches long, compound with 3 to 7 irregularly lobed, coarse-toothed leaflets. Flowers are yellow-green. Most immature branches are green. Often found growing along watercources, swamp edges and forest edges.
Regional...

This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:

Montgomery, Alabama
Flagstaff, Arizona
La Crescenta, California
Beulah, Colorado
Indianapolis, Indiana
Benton, Kentucky

Copyright © 2000-2009 Dave's Garden. All Rights Reserved.