Silver Maple vs Yellow Birch - TreeTime.ca

Silver Maple vs Yellow Birch

Acer saccharinum

Betula alleghaniensis

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Silver Maple
Yellow Birch

Silver Maple is a fast-growing, large deciduous tree that typically has a short trunk and sharply branched crown.

Silver Maple bears red flowers in early spring and beautiful five lobed, deeply notched green and silver leaves that turn yellow in the fall. This versatile and attractive shade tree requires a large yard.

Silver Maple is often used to make syrup instead of Sugar Maple in colder areas where Sugar Maple sap does not sweeten very well (like the Canadian prairies).

Yellow Birch is a large and valuable hardwood species in northeastern North America. The bark on its limbs and young trunks is silvery-yellowish in colour, hence the name. This tree prefers to grow in cool regions with damp or saturated soil.

Yellow Birch can be tapped for syrup, like Sugar Maple. Although the sap has less sugar content, it flows in greater quantity than maple trees.

Silver Maple Quick Facts

Yellow Birch Quick Facts

Lowest Price: $2.49 - SAVE UP TO 64%
Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 20 m (66 ft)
Height: 18 m (60 ft)
Spread: 12 m (40 ft)
Spread: 11 m (35 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: long
Life span: long
Suckering: low
Suckering: low


Foliage: silvery undersides
Fall colour: pale yellow to brown
Fall colour: bright yellow
Bark: shiny yellow to grey silver peels in curly strips, becomes reddish brown when older
Fruit: winged samara
Seeds: located within the winged samaras
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: yes


Native to: ON, QC, NB
Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, water maple, white maple
Other Names: golden birch