A: The botanical term for these structures containing the maple seeds is samaras, but they are more often referred to as “helicopters,” or “whirligigs.” All maple trees produce samaras, but red, silver and Norway maples often produce the largest quantities. Over the next few weeks, these seeds will rain down on lawns, decks, roofs and gutters in many locations which can become a nuisance, especially after we have had such a large number of laurel oak leaf drop within the last few weeks. But raking leaves from the yard and removing them from our gutters in the spring is a small price to pay for having such large, beautiful trees on our property. Both oaks and maples are also the source of much of the yellow pollen we are seeing all over our cars lately, in addition to being the reason for our allergic reactions to pollen. It is possible to take the seeds and propagate your own maple tree. Red maple trees are incredibly fast growers so you should have a nice size tree within a few years. Seed propagation would be a wonderful project for any young person. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a tree develop from seed.

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