Bigtooth maple is the best maple choice. Caddo and trident maples are also good choices, but not silver maple, red maple and the smooth-bark hybrids such as ‘Autumn Blaze’.

The maple was just a 30-inch sapling when planted (1987) 35 years ago; now it is 16 feet tall, has a 10-inch diameter trunk, a 24-foot spread and is well pruned and relatively open.