The World’s Oldest Sugar Maple

Here at Cold Stream Farm, we are freshly stocked with a great inventory of shrubs, trees and other plant life that will help you build the landscape design of your dreams. Every once in a while, we like to take a close look at some of the varieties we sell and see how those varieties are faring with customers and arborists.

Sugar maple is one tree that we really enjoy working with because of its sturdiness and its colorful fall foliage. We offer great discounts on bulk purchases of our sugar maple varieties, so interested customers should be sure to check out our online store.

Interestingly, sugar maples can live hundreds of years if given the proper conditions. Just take a quick look at this article published by The Toronto Sun discussing the efforts of Canadian arborists working feverishly to spread the legacy of perhaps the world’s oldest sugar maple.

Many believe that a sugar maple growing in the town of Pelham, Ontario has been around for at least 500 years. Usually, sugar maples live for a maximum of 300 years, and the tree has been showing signs of aging. However, there is a possibility that the genetic hardiness of this particular variety has contributed to its long life.

To save this strong gene pool, arborists working with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) have been producing saplings from seeds collected from the Comfort Maple, so-called because of the tree’s location on the homestead of the Comfort family, early settlers of the area. Throughout the region, 45 sugar maple saplings have been planted on NPCA properties.

When you are looking for the highest quality in wholesale shrubs and bare root trees, trust the fresh inventory you can find here at Cold Stream Farm. You can still get your evergreen orders in now for shipping in September and October. You can also purchase inventory and reserve shipping until Spring 2015 to get a head start on your gardening plans for next season.