By John Francis
The village of Tobermory was burned/stripped down to bald rock early in the 20th century but it has been growing back nicely ever since. Many people have been heartened to see a return of sugar maple, but perhaps we were celebrating a bit too soon. Norway Maple is an invasive species, originally planted as an ornamental, that looks a great deal like sugar maple. But sugar maple leaves turn gorgeous colours and fall off by mid-October. Norway maple leaves stay green much longer and develop black spots.
Norway maple forms a very dense canopy and shades out pretty much everything else. It also secretes chemical compounds that discourage anything from growing beneath it.
If you decide to cut your Norway maple down, it makes excellent firewood. But that won’t kill it. It will sucker up from the stump and roots. Norway maple can take over an entire woodlot.
