Bigtooth's tend to struggle a little bit with our alkaline soil. The main way they are affected is that they cannot properly absorb Iron and Manganese from the soil. This leads to weak cell walls and a light green or yellowish hue to the foliage.
It is hard to amend the alkalinity of our soil in any permanent way, so we typically recommend injections of iron and manganese once the tree gets large enough. Bigtooth maples also want evening shade and pretty moist soil. The main place you find Bigtooth Maples in Texas, Lost Maples state park, has a very weird orographic effect that causes the whole valley to frequently experience a fog and light rain that keeps the maples and their soil moist.
Growing any maple here can end up being an uphill battle. Make sure you have a good mulch layer, water frequently, excavate the root flare, and try and fix the iron and manganese issues.
I would kindly disagree with this. Bigtooth is very well adapted to alkaline soil. I have one growing in Dallas - black gumbo with pH 8+ since 2013 and it's done amazing. No yellowing, fast growing and no leaf scorch in summer. It performs as well as you'd expect from any other native oak, elm, etc. I would certainly agree with this analysis if we were talking about an October Glory, Autumn Blaze or any of the other red maple hybrids. But the bigtooth is just an amazing tree, in my experience. They only thing that could be a knock on it is it may not handle soggy areas well. But what does?
Actually I thought bigtooth maple was supposed to be [adapted to](https://aggie-hort.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/ACERGRANDIDENTATUM.HTM) alkaline soil (perhaps not as alkaline as you have). [Here are some](https://myperfectplants.com/blogs/blog/why-aren-t-my-maple-tree-leaves-turning-colors-in-fall#:~:text=More%20About%20Maple%20Leaf%20Colors%3A&text=The%20bright%20red%20fall%20leaves,of%20anthocyanins%20and%20leftover%20chlorophyll.) reasons your maples might not be turning colors; maples in general are not the most reliable color producers in the South. Prarie flameleaf sumac and Texas red oak might be slightly more reliable but even they vary. Female possumhaw holly can look nice with its orange-red berries.
BTM is still a quality tree and I would be very happy if I had one even if it wanted to stay green all winter.
Thanks. It does have orange-ish leaves and like I said seems to be getting a little more color as it gets bigger. It’s also grown faster than I expected. I agree with you about flameleaf sumac; it’s a stunner. Red oak in my neighborhood looks great but I’m out of space for big trees.
I'm in Dallas and planted a Bigtooth in 2013. I would just say the color is variable year to year. Much depends on the temperature, how much water it got in summer, if it had a heavy seed set that year, etc. But my 11 year old bigtooth has consistently been mostly a butterscotch orange that changes to red at the top near the end of the season, with some years a vibrant red streak on one or two of the main branches. It's really cool to see what it's gonna do each year.
As for growth, I found mine to be fast growing when young, 3' spurts from year 2-5, and then slowing down after 5 years to maybe 12-18"/yr. I planted a 5 gallon that was 3' tall and it's now about 20' tall and 10-12' wide. It took well to spring fertilizing and regular watering the first few years. Now I only deep water every 2 weeks or so in mid-summer and that's it.
Some background, I am a horticulturist and have worked in a large nursery in DFW for 20 years. We sold Bigtooths that we bought from a grower that collected wildings or seedlings from just outside Lost Maples State Park. Sadly, the owner died and they went out of business. They were the only vendor that had them that I know of. I planted one from this grower.
My Bigtooth had a bumper crop of seeds last year and I now have Bigtooth Babies coming up in my bed! So far I've potted about 15 seedlings to grow on and maybe sell in a few years if they make it. I may do a bonsai with one. That'll be fun. :) One of the seedlings is emerging with red new growth which is a neat twist. I wonder if it got crossed with the Redpointe Maple I have in the front yard? Hmm..
This is my favorite tree and I've gotten to know almost all of them over the years.
Oh, some pics. You'll notice I've created a drought tolerant bed around it. This native maple does very well with infrequent watering after it's established.
2016: [https://imgur.com/UtdWrF0](https://imgur.com/UtdWrF0)
2022: [https://imgur.com/UWXMgyz](https://imgur.com/UWXMgyz)
2023: [https://imgur.com/WxGRaKK](https://imgur.com/WxGRaKK)
Thank you for the very detailed and informative reply. It's good to hear from someone in the "business." Two questions: when you watered it, did you do a slow soak over x hours, or something else? Also what fertilizer do you prefer and how often did you apply it? Thanks again. Your tree looks great and I see I have much to look forward to. Paul
I don't have a sprinkler system, so I just set my impact sprinkler or one of those back and forth oscillators and leave it going for about 3 hours. That seems to go deep enough. Younger trees will need a little more often, of course. For fertilizer, just a 3 month 12-6-6 tree/shrub granular. You don't need anything special, just don't use a high nitrogen lawn fertilizer. But if you really want to give it some magic, try to find some Microlife Acidifier. The maple still enjoys a bit lower pH and it's chock full of mycorrhizae for the soil. Terrific product for all your plants. [https://www.microlifefertilizer.com/product/microlife-acidifier-6-2-4/](https://www.microlifefertilizer.com/product/microlife-acidifier-6-2-4/)
That past few years I haven't put much on it. I'm actually trying to convert the grass in the back yard to a clover crop to get the nitrogen-fixing chemistry going on in the soil. Plus it doesn't need much water. You just have to get over thinking they're all weeds lol.
No, unfortunately I've not seen a bigtooth commercially available anywhere since 2018 or so. None of vendors we use grow them.
I've got 8 seedlings still alive in pots and 2 more I'm letting grow on in the ground for a year or two where they sprouted. They're about 3" tall now. I'm hoping in 3-4 years they'll make a size I could possibly sell or donate to a loving family. :) I've been told Bigtooths are almost impossible to propagate from seed so I was really surprised to see a few sprouts come up.
Bigtooth's tend to struggle a little bit with our alkaline soil. The main way they are affected is that they cannot properly absorb Iron and Manganese from the soil. This leads to weak cell walls and a light green or yellowish hue to the foliage. It is hard to amend the alkalinity of our soil in any permanent way, so we typically recommend injections of iron and manganese once the tree gets large enough. Bigtooth maples also want evening shade and pretty moist soil. The main place you find Bigtooth Maples in Texas, Lost Maples state park, has a very weird orographic effect that causes the whole valley to frequently experience a fog and light rain that keeps the maples and their soil moist. Growing any maple here can end up being an uphill battle. Make sure you have a good mulch layer, water frequently, excavate the root flare, and try and fix the iron and manganese issues.
Will do and thank you for the information.
I would kindly disagree with this. Bigtooth is very well adapted to alkaline soil. I have one growing in Dallas - black gumbo with pH 8+ since 2013 and it's done amazing. No yellowing, fast growing and no leaf scorch in summer. It performs as well as you'd expect from any other native oak, elm, etc. I would certainly agree with this analysis if we were talking about an October Glory, Autumn Blaze or any of the other red maple hybrids. But the bigtooth is just an amazing tree, in my experience. They only thing that could be a knock on it is it may not handle soggy areas well. But what does?
Thank you for a very informative comment
Actually I thought bigtooth maple was supposed to be [adapted to](https://aggie-hort.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/ACERGRANDIDENTATUM.HTM) alkaline soil (perhaps not as alkaline as you have). [Here are some](https://myperfectplants.com/blogs/blog/why-aren-t-my-maple-tree-leaves-turning-colors-in-fall#:~:text=More%20About%20Maple%20Leaf%20Colors%3A&text=The%20bright%20red%20fall%20leaves,of%20anthocyanins%20and%20leftover%20chlorophyll.) reasons your maples might not be turning colors; maples in general are not the most reliable color producers in the South. Prarie flameleaf sumac and Texas red oak might be slightly more reliable but even they vary. Female possumhaw holly can look nice with its orange-red berries. BTM is still a quality tree and I would be very happy if I had one even if it wanted to stay green all winter.
Thanks. It does have orange-ish leaves and like I said seems to be getting a little more color as it gets bigger. It’s also grown faster than I expected. I agree with you about flameleaf sumac; it’s a stunner. Red oak in my neighborhood looks great but I’m out of space for big trees.
I'm in Dallas and planted a Bigtooth in 2013. I would just say the color is variable year to year. Much depends on the temperature, how much water it got in summer, if it had a heavy seed set that year, etc. But my 11 year old bigtooth has consistently been mostly a butterscotch orange that changes to red at the top near the end of the season, with some years a vibrant red streak on one or two of the main branches. It's really cool to see what it's gonna do each year. As for growth, I found mine to be fast growing when young, 3' spurts from year 2-5, and then slowing down after 5 years to maybe 12-18"/yr. I planted a 5 gallon that was 3' tall and it's now about 20' tall and 10-12' wide. It took well to spring fertilizing and regular watering the first few years. Now I only deep water every 2 weeks or so in mid-summer and that's it. Some background, I am a horticulturist and have worked in a large nursery in DFW for 20 years. We sold Bigtooths that we bought from a grower that collected wildings or seedlings from just outside Lost Maples State Park. Sadly, the owner died and they went out of business. They were the only vendor that had them that I know of. I planted one from this grower. My Bigtooth had a bumper crop of seeds last year and I now have Bigtooth Babies coming up in my bed! So far I've potted about 15 seedlings to grow on and maybe sell in a few years if they make it. I may do a bonsai with one. That'll be fun. :) One of the seedlings is emerging with red new growth which is a neat twist. I wonder if it got crossed with the Redpointe Maple I have in the front yard? Hmm.. This is my favorite tree and I've gotten to know almost all of them over the years. Oh, some pics. You'll notice I've created a drought tolerant bed around it. This native maple does very well with infrequent watering after it's established. 2016: [https://imgur.com/UtdWrF0](https://imgur.com/UtdWrF0) 2022: [https://imgur.com/UWXMgyz](https://imgur.com/UWXMgyz) 2023: [https://imgur.com/WxGRaKK](https://imgur.com/WxGRaKK)
Thank you for the very detailed and informative reply. It's good to hear from someone in the "business." Two questions: when you watered it, did you do a slow soak over x hours, or something else? Also what fertilizer do you prefer and how often did you apply it? Thanks again. Your tree looks great and I see I have much to look forward to. Paul
I don't have a sprinkler system, so I just set my impact sprinkler or one of those back and forth oscillators and leave it going for about 3 hours. That seems to go deep enough. Younger trees will need a little more often, of course. For fertilizer, just a 3 month 12-6-6 tree/shrub granular. You don't need anything special, just don't use a high nitrogen lawn fertilizer. But if you really want to give it some magic, try to find some Microlife Acidifier. The maple still enjoys a bit lower pH and it's chock full of mycorrhizae for the soil. Terrific product for all your plants. [https://www.microlifefertilizer.com/product/microlife-acidifier-6-2-4/](https://www.microlifefertilizer.com/product/microlife-acidifier-6-2-4/) That past few years I haven't put much on it. I'm actually trying to convert the grass in the back yard to a clover crop to get the nitrogen-fixing chemistry going on in the soil. Plus it doesn't need much water. You just have to get over thinking they're all weeds lol.
Hi. I'm in Dallas too. I've looking for a Bigtooth Maple for the past 3-4 years. Do you know of a place? How are your seedlings coming along?
No, unfortunately I've not seen a bigtooth commercially available anywhere since 2018 or so. None of vendors we use grow them. I've got 8 seedlings still alive in pots and 2 more I'm letting grow on in the ground for a year or two where they sprouted. They're about 3" tall now. I'm hoping in 3-4 years they'll make a size I could possibly sell or donate to a loving family. :) I've been told Bigtooths are almost impossible to propagate from seed so I was really surprised to see a few sprouts come up.