Half a dozen or so old Silver Maples dominate the tree life in Maple Grove Park. Most of the Silvers were planted in 1914 by Ralph W. Coho who purchased West End Park, built a swimming pool there, planted maples around the pool, and renamed the park Maple Grove [Jack Brubaker, Lancaster Online, May 25, 2004.]. These trees thus are more than 100 years old, and a couple — perhaps preexisting in the park — seem even older.
For example, the park’s two giants are side by side near Little Conestoga Creek. One has a trunk circumference of 208 inches, the other 203. These numbers are comparable to the Noble Hill and Falmouth Silvers (see separate entries), although at 60-65 feet, the Maple Grove trees aren’t as tall).
This amazing species can hybridize with its close relative, the Red Maple (Acer rubrum), to produce the Free- man Maple which combines the fast growth of Silver with the bright fall color of Red.
