There are eight species of maple native to Virginia: the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red maple (Acer rubrum), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), mountain maple (Acer spicatum), black maple (Acer nigrum), southern sugar maple (Acer floridanum), and the boxelder (Acer negundo)..
To distinguish them, look at the teeth on the leaf edges.
Red maple leaves are more toothed, while the lobes on sugar maples have smoother edges.
Red maple leaves are green on the top and a light greenish white on the underside, and turn brilliant red in autumn.
The leaf stalk and twigs also have a reddish color..
There are many symbols of Japanese red maple trees, such as abundant blessings, peace, beauty, patience, survival, the arrival of autumn, and so on.
It is common to see Japanese people plant maple trees in their houses to bring luck and add good value to their houses by believing in red maple trees' spiritual meaning..
Red maple grows at a moderate rate and makes a sturdy, beautiful shade tree.
Look for top varieties such as 'Red Sunset', 'October Glory', 'Red Supersonic', 'Ruby Frost', and 'Columnar'..
Red maples do well in sunny or shady spots, dry or wet soil, and high or low elevation.
Adaptable roots help the red maple to cope with differing soil types.
If the tree is placed in wet soil, it grows a short taproot and extensive lateral roots to soak up water at the surface..
