Boxelder - Acer negundo

A small to medium tree to 20 m (65 feet) tall often with an irregular shape; bark is light brown to gray, thin on younger trees thickening with age, deep furrowed with broad rounded ridges; branches are stout, widely spreading to upright; leaves are opposite, deciduous, pinnately compound with 3 to rarely 5 leaflets per leaf, pointed tipped, often broad uneven base, coarse teeth along margins, light green above and paler and hairy below; flowers calyx females, stamen males on separate trees; fruits in hanging clusters, two winged. Habitat is lowland sites along streams, rivers, ponds, or flooded flats on a variety of soils. Tolerant of prolonged flooding. Seed requires both a pretreatment and a cold stratification period to break dormancy; northern sources have a shorter cold stratification requirement than southern sources. Pretreatment involves two weeks of soaking in cold water or a physical rupturing or removal of the pericarp prior to cold stratification; recommendations vary from 21 days at 20°C in sand or peat medium up to 2 - 3 months at 4°C (40°F). A high percentage of empty seeds can be expected. Transplant seedlings at one to two years old.

Greenhouse asexual propagation of softwood stem cuttings works well when the cuttings are treated with 8,000 parts per million IBA talc and can be taken up until mid September.

Field propagation by dormant unrooted hardwood cuttings is rarely successful.

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Last Modified: 07/05/2007