Is a norway maple common in central Indiana? (Fortville, Indiana)

Is a norway maple common in central Indiana?

The most concrete local evidence is the town's own prohibited-species list (Ch. 95.22, adopted 2002), which bars silver maple, box elder, cottonwood, all willows, all elms, mulberry, Lombardy poplar, tree of heaven, black walnut, black locust, paper and European white birch, southern catalpa, Bradford pear and ginkgo except seedless cultivars from any public street, alley or park planting. Mature shade trees line the old core, the north and east subdivisions carry five- to ten-year-old planted stock, and ash is effectively gone statewide from emerald ash borer. That context matters for norway maple: this is the tree planted every forty feet through central indiana neighborhoods built from the 1960s into the 1990s, and the one arborists most often find strangled by its own roots. Removing a norway maple around Fortville runs roughly $250–$1,400, and in Mt. Vernon North, Beyers Estates and Manship Estates access is usually what decides where in that range you land.

What's actually growing in Fortville

Fortville's housing stock, and what it means for tree size

Fortville is two towns stacked on each other: a platted-1849 core between Main Street, Broadway and Memorial Park where the housing is late-1800s to early-1900s, and a new-construction ring north and east built on cropland since roughly 2015. Population went 3,929 (2010) to 4,784 (2020) and has kept climbing, so a large share of the roofs are under ten years old with nursery-stock trees to match.

What's specific to norway maple

Still legal to sell and plant in Indiana as far as I can verify — the Terrestrial Plant Rule (312 IAC 18-3-25) banned 44 species effective April 2020 and Norway maple was deliberately excluded over nursery-industry impact, and the proposed twelve-species amendment that would add it has been stalled since 2021 by DNR rule recodification. Treat it as invasive in practice and keep it off recommendation lists, but do not tell customers it is banned; verify current rule status before publishing, because this is the one fact here most likely to change.

Hancock County rules

No permit is needed to remove a tree in your own yard. Fortville does, however, have a real tree code — Chapter 95, the "Town of Fortville Tree and Flora Ordinance" (Ord. 2002-7A) — and it is stricter than most towns this size. A permit is required to plant anything in the town right-of-way (95.18). Topping or severe trimming of public trees is forbidden (95.11). No arboricultural work may be done on a town tree without a special permit from the Tree Program Supervisor (95.19). A separate special permit is required before a builder destroys or significantly alters forest or woodland during subdivision, grading or construction (95.21). Illegal removal or damage carries fines of up to $1,000 per violation plus replacement billed at $100 per DBH inch (95.99). Section 95.10 places clearance duties over streets, alleys and sidewalks on the property owner; the specific heights should be confirmed with the town.

Is a norway maple common in central Indiana?

What's actually growing in Fortville

Fortville's housing stock, and what it means for tree size

What's specific to norway maple

Hancock County rules

Crews near Fortville

Pro Finish Tree Care

Broken Oak Tree Service LLC

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