--- title: Norway Maple in Reno and Carson City: Tree Guide url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/norway-maple/ business: Battle Born Tree Service address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701 phone: 775.232.8243 hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood) --- - [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/) - [Tree guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/) - Norway maple # Norway maple Norway maple is a dense, round-crowned shade tree from Europe that was planted widely on older Reno, Carson City and Carson Valley lots, and you can tell it by the milky sap that beads from a broken leaf stalk. It handles alkaline soil better than most maples, but it scorches in hot dry spells and can die back after heavy pruning. - **Botanical name:** Acer platanoides - **Type:** Deciduous shade tree from Europe; green and purple-leaved forms - **Size:** 40 to 98 feet tall with a wide, rounded crown (USDA Forest Service) - **Hardiness:** Zones 3 to 8 (Utah State University); zones 6b to 7b here - **Where it is found:** Older planted lots on the valley floors, about 4,000 to 5,100 feet - **Known weak points:** Leaf scorch in hot dry sites, dieback after pruning, aphid honeydew A Norway maple casts dense shade. People often know it by its dark red-leaved cultivars such as 'Crimson King'. This page is about identifying it, the elevation bands where it lives, the problems we see described for it in Intermountain landscapes, and when pruning or removal is the right call. ## How do you identify a Norway maple? The leaf is the clue. It is opposite on the twig, usually five-lobed, with a wide base, and when you pull a leaf from its stalk a drop of milky sap appears. Utah State University notes the sap may fade late in summer, so check in spring or early summer. Fall color is yellow to orange. The fruit is a pair of winged seeds set nearly flat, 1.4 to 2.2 inches long according to the USDA Forest Service. Bark on old trees is furrowed. Sugar maple has watery sap and a different leaf shape; the milky stalk is what separates the Norway. - Five-lobed opposite leaves with milky sap in the stalk - Paired seeds spread nearly in a straight line - Dense, round crown that shades heavily - Furrowed bark on older trees ## Where does it grow in Reno, Carson City and the Carson Valley? It is a planted tree of the valley floors. Reno's ZIP 89501 is zone 7b, Carson City's 89701 is 7a and Minden's 89423 is 6b, and Utah State rates it high for alkaline soil tolerance and for salt, which suits our ground. Reno is near 4,505 feet and Carson City near 4,680 feet. Above that, on the Nevada side of Tahoe at 6,200 to 7,100 feet, you will find far fewer; the lot trees there are conifers. The Forest Service reports it growing outside cultivation in Washington, Idaho and western Montana, not as a wild tree of our basin. ## What goes wrong with it here? Utah State University calls it a medium-quality tree that is over-planted in most of Utah, with leaves that scorch on very hot, dry sites and a fairly common dieback of trunk or branches after pruning. That dieback is why a heavy cut on a Norway maple deserves caution. See [drought stress and dieback](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/drought-stress-and-dieback/) for how an arborist tells scorch from real decline. Aphids can leave a sticky honeydew on cars and patios in some years, though USU says they rarely harm the tree. The crown is heavy, so a split fork or a limb on a roof is the structural worry; see [storm and snow-load breakage](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/storm-and-snow-load-breakage/). Like other large maples, it is rated not good under power lines. ## Pruning, cabling or removal: which is the right call? Dead wood and hazard limbs come off any time. For everything else, late winter is the usual window. Because dieback after pruning is reported, an arborist favors a few well-chosen cuts over a large number of cuts at once. See [crown thinning, raising and reduction](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/crown-thinning-raising-reduction/). [Cabling and bracing](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/cabling-bracing/) can help a sound tree with a strong main trunk and one weak union. Removal is usual when the trunk or roots are decayed, when the crown has lost most of its live wood, or when a split union overhangs a house. Big Norway maples often need a [large tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/large-tree-removal/) crew and, in tight yards, a crane. ## What does Battle Born Tree Service do about a Norway maple? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) or use the estimate form on this page. An ISA Certified Arborist looks at the tree on site, explains what is wrong and tells you whether the job is pruning, cabling or removal. Credential WE-11728A is held by one of our two certified arborists. For firewood, call the office for availability and pricing. ### Sources - [Utah State University Extension: Tree Browser, Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)](https://extension.usu.edu/treebrowser/catalog/maple-norway) (read October 17, 2026) - [USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System: Acer platanoides](https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/acepla/all.html) (read October 17, 2026) - [USDA Agricultural Research Service: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (PRISM, Oregon State University)](https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/) (read October 17, 2026) - [NOAA NCEI: U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/us-climate-normals) (read October 17, 2026) ### Talk to the office [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) | Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | |---|---| | Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered | Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service. [Free estimate](#quote) ### Keep reading - [Silver maple](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/silver-maple/) - [Freeman maple ('Autumn Blaze' and relatives)](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/freeman-maple/) - [Crown thinning, raising and reduction: what each means](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/crown-thinning-raising-reduction/) - [Large tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/large-tree-removal/) - [Tree trimming and pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/tree-trimming-pruning/) - [Watering mature trees in the high desert](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/watering-mature-trees-high-desert/) ### When to prune - [When should maples be pruned in Northern Nevada?](https://battleborntreeservice.com/faq/pruning-and-trimming/when-to-prune-maples/) ### Terms on this page [Leaf scorch](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/leaf-scorch/) [Alkaline soil](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/alkaline-soil/) [Arborist](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/arborist/) [The full glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/) ## Questions people ask Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### How can I tell a Norway maple from a sugar maple? Break a leaf stalk. A Norway maple shows milky sap, as Utah State University notes, while a sugar maple's sap is clear. The leaf shapes also differ. ### Why do my maple's leaves have brown edges in July? Leaf scorch from heat and dry soil is a common cause on Norway maples, according to Utah State University. It can also signal root trouble, so an arborist checks the base and the soil conditions. ### Can a Norway maple be topped to make it smaller? No. Topping leaves weak regrowth and, on a species that already dies back after heavy pruning, can make things worse. We reduce and thin instead, or recommend removal.