Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Sunday - November 06, 2011

From: Westchester, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Is a Brandywine Maple messy from Westchester IL
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Brandywine Maple: Does this tree produce sap, seeds or flower? As a home owner I can't afford more maintenance with clogged gutters or a sap covered car. Thank you.

ANSWER:

While Acer rubrum (Red maple) is native to North America and to Illinois, 'Brandywine' has been developed as seen in this excerpt from Maple-tree.com:

"Development: 'Brandywine' resulted from a 1982 cross of Acer rubrum 'October Glory' and A. rubrum ' Autumn Flame' by A. M. Townsend as part of a research project examining the inheritance of fall color and leafhopper resistance, and an effort to improve existing cultivars of red maple. Released December, 1994. Significance: 'Brandywine' has a brilliant red-purple autumn color. It produces only male flowers; thus, no fruit or nuisance seedlings. It has a significant level of tolerance to potato leafhopper, better than or comparable to many commercially available red maple cultivars.

Apparently, this tree produces only male flowers, and therefore no fruit or nuisance seedlings. It does, however, produce a lot of leaves in the Fall. It would be nearly impossible to find any tree that would produce no waste products of one kind or another to clog your gutters. As for the sap that rises in the trees; in cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter-the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring.

So, if you don't want litter or sap on your car, better not plant a maple over your car, and we really don't know what to suggest about the gutters. You can make decisions about location of plants and hardscape, but it is well nigh impossible to change the nature of a plant.


 

 

From the Image Gallery


Red maple
Acer rubrum

More Trees Questions

Can a soapberry tree be grown in Colorado Springs?
May 04, 2010 - I live in Colorado Springs and I was wondering if it is possible to grow a soapberry tree here?
view the full question and answer

Identification of tree or shrub in Massachusetts
May 16, 2013 - Good morning, We are in Zone 5 and have a tree/shrub I cannot identify in the backyard of our new home. Tall (6')and growing, green stems,and when the stems are broken the branches smell of lemon o...
view the full question and answer

Possible reasons for non-fruiting wild plum
March 10, 2007 - My grandfather has land in Lee County with thickets of wild plum, I believe creek plum is another name. However, they never seem to produce plums while thickets nearby on the roadside less than one mi...
view the full question and answer

Young Maple Dropping Leaves in Late Summer
September 05, 2013 - I have a 6-year-old maple tree. I'm not sure what type it is as the builder planted it. It is as tall as our two-story house and very healthy. It's the biggest tree in our neighborhood because we fe...
view the full question and answer

Small flowering tree for MS
March 21, 2011 - I had to cut down some trees that had grown too close to my foundation, but would like to re-plant something a little farther from the house (12-16 feet away) that would still serve as a screen outsid...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.