In today's video, I'm going to be telling you everything that I know about Amur Maple trees.
I think I know a lot about them... more than most people!
So, this right here is an Amur Maple tree.
I know it doesn't look like most maple trees. It looks like a bush!
The Amur Maple is a very interesting type of maple tree...
That really comes in handy when you want to plant a tree that gets very wide, very quickly...
And that grows really fast, but it never gets more than about 20 or 25 feet tall.
And, a bonus: The roots stay close to the tree. They won't really interfere with concrete...
Or end up running 50 feet out in to your yard looking for water.
I've got a bunch of Amur Maple trees here in my yard, of different ages.
I planted the first ones in April of 2021, in the front row, every other hole.
Look at how small they were!
Now here is a photo I shot just six months later to show you how they turn red in the Fall, but it...
It also very clearly shows how much they grew in just six months!
From this in April...
To this just six months later.
That's a fast growing tree!
And here's one of those Amur Maples today, in September of 2022, a year and five months after I planted it.
The point is, that this is one of the fastest growing trees you'll find.
From my patio, I have a view of my neighbor's house and his big shop...
As well as that block wall fence between us.
I wanted to plant something here that would quickly block the view of the block wall fence...
And eventually block the view of my neighbor's house and shop.
Now these Amur Maples are well on their way to achieving that goal.
By the way, you might remember that originally I planted Amur Maples in every other hole in the front row.
Well, I very quickly realized how fast growing they were...
And how perfect they were for what I was trying to accomplish...
So, in the Spring of this year... I planted more Amur Maples...
In between the ones I planted a year earlier...
And that's why you see in that row of Amur Maples...
There's now a big one, and then a smaller one, every other tree.
Every other tree there's a tree that's one year older than the other one.
Stick with me for just a minute here... I've saved one of the most important things you need to know about Amur Maples... And I'll be covering that next...
But first I want to just mention that...
I've spent a LOT of money on the things I make videos about here on my YouTube channel.
For example, the Amur maples you see here in my yard cost me way more than a thousand dollars...
And the more popular videos on my channel...
Such as the ones about G-scale model trains...
And the travel videos...
Have only been possible after I spent tens of thousands of dollars on those things.
Now, up until this year, advertising revenue from YouTube has paid for much of that, but...
Something changed with YouTube this year... The advertising money's just not coming in like it used to...
So I've set up a Patreon page so that you can help, if these videos have been valuable to you.
You can become a Patron for as little as $1 a month...
And there are perks for the folks that kick in more than that.
You can also just kick in a little something one time... to show your appreciation, without it becoming a recurring thing.
I just started the Patreon thing over the last month, and...
So far I have 29 patrons, which seems good for having just started less than a month ago.
So, a big thanks to all who have been willing to help.
So, the other thing that you need to know about Amur Maples is that they reproduce like crazy!
See those brown things that kind of look like dead leaves?
Those are seed pods.
And just six months after I planted my first Amur Maples...
They were dropping seeds like you wouldn't believe!
And the next Spring, those seeds were sprouting in to little baby Amur Maples.
I pulled all of those seedlings out of the ground and transplanted them in to pots.
And over the course of the Spring and Summer of this year...
I ended up with so many Amur Maple seedlings in pots that you wouldn't believe it.
I probably transplanted 60 Amur Maple seedlings out of the ground and in to pots this year.
And here are some that outgrew the pots...
So, I transplanted them again, next to the block wall fence...
To make a back row of Amur Maples.
And remember, these were all free. They started as seeds that dropped to the ground last Fall...
And now here they are, my next generation of Amur Maples.
If you look up Amur Maples on the Internet you will see them described as an invasive species.
That's because they drop so many seeds that germinate and turn in to seedlings...
That if you just let that happen you're going to end up in a few years with Amur Maples completely taking over.
Like if you had some acreage, and you just went out and planted one Amur Maple tree on it...
And let nature take it's course...
In your lifetime, Amur Maples would probably just take over the entire property...
Or at least the part of the property downwind from the first Amur Maple you put in.
Now obviously I don't want the Amur Maples to totally take over back here...
And I've got enough already, I don't need anymore, so...
I'll just continue to transplant the seedlings in to pots... Let them grow for a few months, or maybe a year...
And then I'll see if any of my neighbors want them... Or perhaps put them on Facebook marketplace or something like that.
If I get tired of doing that, I can always just pull the seedlings out of the ground...
Drop them in to the trash can, just like I do with the weeds that pop up around here.
One other thing I want to mention is that there are different varieties of Amur Maples.
The ones you've seen in this video, so far, are called Red Rhapsody Amur Maples.
I bought them from Monrovia.com
But I also got very lucky and found a different variety of Amur Maple at a local nursery.
You're looking at it here.
Now I don't know what variety of Amur Maple it is. It literally did not have a tag on it at the nursery...
And the guy that ran the nursery didn't even know it was called an Amur Maple.
But I recognized it right away when I saw it on his lot...
And I had to have it, because I've become a real fan of Amur Maples since I planted my first one less than two years ago.
They grew so fast, and now... I mean some of them are probably 15 feet tall already.
Well, I hope this information about Amur Maple trees is helpful to you.
Maybe I saved you some money by showing you how prolific they are!
You probably don't need to buy very many of them...
As long as you've got a few years for them to drop seeds... And then you'll start getting seedlings popping up all around.
You won't have to buy 'em anymore!
If I did help you out with this video, my Patreon page is basically the tip jar.
You can make a one-time contribution of as little as a dollar...
Or set up a monthly amount if you're really a fan.
Also, I'm going to pop up on the screen now some links to other videos that I've made.
If you liked this one about Amur Maples...
You'd probably really like a video I did which gives you a full tour of my yard.
And maybe you'd like a tour of the inside of the house, too.
Also, the story of how my channel got over 350 million views... That's an interesting one, too!