It’s an other-worldly feeling to be self-isolated in Down East Maine and watching televised reports on the coronavirus from Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, and Sacramento, where all the trees are in lush leaf and the Cherry Blossom spectacle is long gone. When we look out our window, there are no leaves yet. But, we have plenty of buds, such as these Red Maple buds photographed yesterday afternoon. They’re our little messages of hope for the future –still on the way, unopened.
Soon, these buds will become flowers, after which we’ll see the tree’s leaves. Red Maple (Acer rubrum, also known as Soft, White, and Swamp Maple) and Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) are our only maple trees that produce flowers before they produce their leaves, according to our State botanists.
Our other maple trees are Sugar (aka Rock or Hard), Silver, Striped (aka Moosewood), and Mountain Maples. They produce flowers when they produce leaves or after the leaves appear. (Brooklin, Maine)