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Earth Day: About Trees Found in the Kennebec Valley
Maine's Kennebec Valley is home to some of the most beautiful, pristine forests in the Northeast. It's truly a spectacular place to call home, and our real estate agents enjoy every moment they get to spend here in the great outdoors. And with Earth Day coming right up on April 22, we can't wait to get out and explore nature's wonders.
More than 80% of Maine is forested. If you're new to the area, the sheer variety of plant and animal life can be almost shocking. We thought we'd help out by introducing you to some of the most common trees you'll see near these Augusta homes for sale!
- Balsam Fir - The most abundant conifer in the state, Balsam fir grows in thickets in the Kennebec Valley, preferring damp woods and hillsides. Balsam fir is best known for its richly aromatic needles, which are commonly used to make candles and incense. The trees typically grow to 60 or 70-feet, with pointed, spire-like crowns.
- Sugar Maple - You'll find numerous species of maple trees in the Kennebec Valley—red maple, rock maple, silver maple—but it's the sugar maple that's closest to our hearts. Sugar maple is at the heart of our productive local maple syrup industry, and local maple producers work hard all winter long harvesting their sap. The easiest way to identify a sugar maple is to look at the leaves, which are 3 to 5 inches wide and have five lobes with a smooth, curved edge.
- Yellow Birch - White birch, also known as paper birch, often gets more attention. But yellow birch is a majestic tree in its own right, growing to about 75 feet and displaying beautiful copper or gold-colored bark that often peels and in tight curls. It favors similar soil conditions as sugar maple and often grows in the same areas.
- Red Spruce - Red spruce prefers rocky upland habitat and is more common on the slopes above the Kennebec Valley than in the valley itself. It's a handsome tree that grows a very straight trunk and can top out above 80 feet. The bark and cones both have a reddish-brown color, and the needles are short, dark green, and very prickly.
- Bigtooth Aspen - Bigtooth aspen is one of the trees that Maine forests their signature look in autumn. The round leaves of these silver-barked trees turn a uniform shade of golden-yellow in fall. And because they grow together in dense groves, they create the impression that entire hillsides have turned to gold all at once. Aspens grow tightly together because they spread by underground stolons, so when you see many aspens in a concentrated area, they may actually be one organism, all connected underground.
- White Oak - One of Maine's most majestic trees, white oak often lives 300 years or more and can develop a canopy that spans up to a quarter acre. The bark is ashy gray and scaly to almost plate-like. The leaves have long, rounded lobes, which is a key identifying feature. Red oaks, black oaks, and scarlet oaks, also native to Maine, have pointed leaves. White Oaks are often seen standing alone in fields or pastures, the only trees not to have been cleared decades before.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kennebec Valley trees. We have white pine, horse chestnut, speckled alder, and dozens of others. To meet them all, you'll just have to pay our forests a visit!
Contact us today to learn more about life in Augusta, Maine, and the surrounding areas. It's truly a place like no other!