Living with a silver maple

Silver maple silhouette

We purchased our home with a silver maple tree already well-established in our back yard.  Although its canopy is thick and the leaves are stunning in the fall, the silver maple tree has some issues that make getting along in the backyard somewhat challenging.

Silver maples send their major roots along the surface of the soil, making it nearly impossible to safely mow around them.   They also have a thickly matted root system that limits all but the most aggressive cultivation.  I spent the first fifteen years of my relationship with my silver maple in a constant battle.  I kept trying different plants under that tree,  and kept trying to find a way to mow around those big roots.  It did not go well.

Ground cover that works

My next "solution" was to mulch around the tree, using container gardening to provide interest.   The first season was a flaming disaster.   While all my other containers thrived, those that were situated under the silver maple were spindly and puny.   When fall arrived and it was time to clean up the garden I discovered that the silver maple has sent its roots up through the container drain holes and literally filled the pots with tree roots so that the container plants had no soil left.

Successful container gardening

I've learned to live with my difficult shade tree.  There are a few plants that grow well in its shade, vinca major, crocosmia, and silver artemesia are perfectly happy jamming their roots into the mass of silver maple roots.  I've learned to place my containers on old cookie sheets covered with leaves to keep the silver maple roots out of my containers or to use pedestals and raised pots for my container garden.

My relationship with my silver maple tree also reminds me to consider
my relationships with other people.  There are always people in our lives who are lovely and valuable but come with issues and challenges.  It is important to gracefully accept people for who they are and to enjoy them for the good things they bring to our lives, without trying to change or manipulate them into someone who fits our criteria of "perfect."