VERY soft wooded tree. Does not withstand high winds. If branches are broken in the late fall/winter/extreme early spring, the tree will "bleed" sap very profusely. This is not a sugar maple & is not suitable for making maple syrup. Tolerates extremes in temperature, once established tolerates drought. Very fast growing, so used a lot in urban settings (which it is NOT suitable for due to the brittle branches & the sappiness). Also drops lots of "berries" which is VERY messy & annoying. The berries (not the samaras, but something in between, not sure) are not sticky, but are produced in huge amounts. This is an important lumber tree.

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Because the Silver (Soft) Maple is weak-wooded and grows so large, it is not recommended for the residential yard. It is a very common tree growing along rivers and in bottomlands in eastern North America, from southeast Canada to northwest Florida to eastern Kansas up to central Minnesota. It is fast growing of about 2 to 3 feet/year and lives about 100 years. It drops some twigs and small branches and produces lots of large samaras ( winged seeds) in early summer. I lived near a specimen for a few years that had very yellow leaves, showing magnesium chlorosis in higher pH soil, probably above 7.5 or so. My mother bought a 'Silver Queen' cultivar from a nursery in the 1960's in the Chicago area, and it is still doing fine in the front yard in 2019, and has not really had any bad damage; though it has gotten bigger there and may eventually pose some danger as it gets old. Most nurseries don't sell this species anymore, which is wise. It would be alright for a large park or commercial property, but it is not a really great tree for residential landscaping. Some cheap mail order nurseries still sell some, and some special native plant nurseries grow some for conservational purposes in natural parks and wildlands. There are some hybrid Red x Silver Maples (Freeman Maples) that are better for landscaping.

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