How to Choose the Right Maple Tree for Your Chicago Landscape

Considering planting some maple trees in your landscape? There are so many stunning varieties to choose from—it can be hard to pick just one! To make it easy, we’ve divided them into three categories—small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale—to help you choose the right varieties for your unique space. 

We have several different types of maples with distinctive features, sizes, shapes, and requirements—some are fast-growing, and some are slow and steady! Here’s what you can expect from maples of all sizes, why we love them, and our favorite varieties you can plant in Chicago. 

Our Favorite Maples That Grow Large for Shade

Large maples typically reach about 45–70 feet high at maturity, with big, wide canopies that cast plenty of shade. That shade is a valuable thing—it can help keep your home cool during the hottest summer months, so you won’t have to crank up the air conditioning as often.

Red maples are a super popular variety of large-scale maples because they grow incredibly fast—sometimes as much as two feet per year! If you want lots of landscape color and shade without having to wait very long, these trees will certainly satisfy.

You’ll need lots of space to accommodate a large maple tree, so they’re more common in sprawling backyards. Avoid planting them near power lines or hardscapes, as their large root systems can damage sidewalks and driveways nearby.

Large Maple Tree Varieties

Here are three supersized maples, each with their own gorgeous colors and ornamental attributes, for an instant boost in property value!

Redpointe is a stunning variety with a pyramidal form, reaching 45 feet tall and 30 feet wide at maturity with a 6-foot canopy clearing—just high enough to walk underneath! Its foliage emerges as red in spring, fading to emerald green in summer, then taking on an ultra-vibrant red shade again in fall.

Autumn Blaze is a hybrid combination of red maple and silver maple. It’s colorful and fast-growing like a red maple tree but with better pollution and salt tolerance. It reaches 50 feet high and 40 feet wide, with grassy green foliage that turns candy apple red in autumn.

Fall Fiesta is a standout favorite, reaching 60 feet high and wide at maturity. You’ll love how its foliage takes on a prismatic, multi-tonal effect in fall, with splashes of gold, red, orange, and green.

Mid-Sized Maples for Accent and Privacy

Not too big, not too small—these mid-sized maples are just right. Typically reaching between 20–40 feet tall, some mid-scale maple trees have more voluminous canopies, while others have narrow, columnar shapes. Columnar varieties are great for mass planting—when you line them up, they create a wall of foliage that acts as a windbreak and offers privacy. 

A mid-sized maple can work great if you’d like some shade or window privacy in your front yard. Be mindful of the projected mature size for your chosen variety, and give your tree enough space to spread out. You won’t want to be stuck with significant pruning every year to keep your tree confined!

Mid-sized trees are also great for front yards because many of them can fit under power lines. The 40-footers might be a bit too tall, but some of the 20–25 foot varieties are ideal.

Mid-Size Maple Tree Varieties

Bloodgood is the most popular Japanese maple and comparatively larger than other varieties. We love its airy, open, and soft foliage—the texture and year-round burgundy color have major curb appeal! Bloodgood reaches 20 feet high and wide—the perfect accent tree for front yards. Its pointed foliage emerges as deep purple, transitions to burgundy in summer, and then turns bright red in fall.

Crimson Sentry is a Norway maple with burgundy and purple foliage, similar to Crimson King—the difference is that it has a more narrow pyramidal form. Reaching 40 feet high but just 25 feet wide, this variety is excellent for mass planting in rows. 

Armstrong Gold is a fast-growing red maple that boasts a warm, fiery flush to its fall foliage, with red, orange, and gold tones. It has a distinctive columnar shape, only spreading 12 feet wide but reaching 40 feet tall! Plant them in a line for a privacy border or windbreak.

Small-Growing Maples for Focal Points and Texture

There are plenty of small-sized maples that function more like shrubs in the landscape. They’re fantastic statement plants—more suitable for aesthetic purposes rather than providing shade or privacy. You can even plant them within large garden beds or as a border hedge along fences or home foundations. 

The most common small-scale varieties are Japanese Maples. They have distinctive textures and rich colors that contrast beautifully against your standard green summer foliage trees.

Lots of sunshine helps your Japanese maples grow lush and healthy, but too much sun can actually make their colorful leaves revert to green. A location with a bit of shade from the intense afternoon sun may be ideal. Moist, well-draining, slightly acidic soil with plenty of compost is great. If the soil pH gets too high, leaves will turn yellow. Watering twice a week should suffice, but if the weather is especially hot and dry, you can increase it to 3–4 times per week.

Small-Sized Maple Tree Varieties

Orangeola has lacy leaves that emerge as orange, then take on a cool, emerald green tone with subtle orange highlights, adding gorgeous dimension. It maintains a rounded form with weeping branches, reaching 8 feet tall and wide. 

Ryusen is another shrubby, weeping variety—10 feet high and wide—with tiny lobed leaves in an electric lime green shade, transitioning to gold in autumn.

Crimson Queen is a shrubby variety with stringy, fringe-like foliage with a dramatic weeping habit, bringing texture and movement to the scenery. It reaches 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide and is incredibly versatile. Mass planting, hedges, accent garden plants, and even containers—the Crimson Queen can do it all!

Explore even more maple trees for sale in Illinois by visiting a Platt Hill Nursery near you in Bloomingdale and Carpentersville! Both locations offer landscaping services conveniently located near you. Fall is the ideal time to plant, and our staff will be happy to provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to ease your young saplings into their new homes. 

Platt Hill Nursery is Chicago’s premier garden center and nursery.