Garden Coach on Tricks to Make Maple Seed Messes Easier to Manage

Wondering how to clean up maple seeds?

Those maple seed helicopters are no fun to clean up. But, maples are gorgeous trees worth growing. And, no, spraying your trees won't help you clean up those maple seed messes.  So, what can you do to make cleaning up those pods easier?

First, where do you need to clean up those maple seeds?

Learn how to clean up maple seeds & love these beautiful trees!If your maple seeds have fallen on a patio or deck, you may be able to simply rake or sweep them. But, if your maple is dropping seeds in a pond, you may need to get out a pond vacuum. And, if your tree is dropping seeds in a gravel path, that's going to be extra challenging. This is because those little helicopters will wedge themselves into the gravel and become nearly impossible to take out. Except, it might work if you're willing to hand pluck every single little pod. But, who wants to clean up maple seeds that way?

Let's assume you need to clean them out of a garden bed…

When maple seeds fall will fall in your garden beds or your mulch, you have a few options:

In the first place, you could just let them say put. That's because most of them will fail to germinate. And, those will become organic material to feed your soil.

But, some will sprout. So, you'll need to be prepared to hand pull those later. Or, better yet, dig them up to transplant somewhere in your garden.

Another option would be to preemptively clean up maple seeds by catching them. This requires knowing when your maple will shed its helicopters. And, timing will vary, so watch your trees.

Then, drape an old sheet under the trees to catch the flying 'copters. And, you could use a tarp, but a sheet will allow moisture and light to reach your garden better. Also, be sure to weigh down your sheets so they don't blow away. Finally, as soon as possible, gather up the sheet so plants underneath don't suffer.

Need help with other maple gardening challenges?

Before you try pruning your maple, check out this article for tips to transform it into a specimen.

And, when you prune your maple, does it bleed? Learn more about this pruning phenomenon in this article.

Finally, if you need more help learning to care for maples and other trees, join our online Academy now. We'll teach you all about choosing the right plants for your garden and how to care for them in the easiest ways possible.