Bigleaf Maple: A Good Shade Tree? (growing, trees, yard, south)

[Widowmaker2k]

Hello, I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, and have several of what I assume to be Bigleaf maples growing on my property deep in the canyon. The leaves are moderate to large sized (5 lobed), and when I was younger, I remember the leaves being bigger than my head, though now the largest I could find were roughly 7-8 inches across. I was under the impression that the bigleaf maple was a single trunk tree, but all my maples have at least 5 or 6 main trunks from the ground, and climb roughly 30 or 40 feet high. Could this be because they all are under a deeply shaded oak canopy and never receive direct sunlight?

Anyways, I was thinking about taking cuttings from these maples and planting a few near my house, as the previous shade trees (silk trees...I know, I know, terrible) have all died (though one was replaced by a volunteer apple tree). I like that the bigleaf maple is reported to be a fast growing tree, but I'm afraid that it will get too big. We have snow and wind storms here in the winter, and occasionally lose trees in them (though I haven't lost any maples to them, just oaks). The soil is a rich clay, and the trees would be in full sunlight. I've heard that they can get as high as 100 feet, though 40-60 feet is more common.

[cdelena]

They make shade but they also make a huge mess. I have a few in the green belt behind my house and spend more time than I would like cleaning up after these trees. Given a choice I would plant something else.

[si33]

Up close to the house??...i would probably choose something a little tidier..But, if you have the space for them..and don't mind the annual leaf/seed drop, they are nice trees...There is one planted in a yard by where i used to live in South San Jose..and it is barely 15-20 foot tall at the most..and has been there as long as i can remember..

Just this past October, shortly before i moved to FL., it weathered a freak storm which shredded just about every Chinese Pistache and Sweet Gum on that street..It looked like a war zone the day after the winds blew threw..Something like what you would see back east after a a severe T-storm event..

The maple??..not a branch came off of it..

[Widowmaker2k]

Thanks for the replies! I think I'll go ahead and try and plant that maple from cuttings. I do like the fact that it turns bright colors in fall, and would like to some day make syrup from the tree (just to say I did it). Like I said, I need the shade, and am not bothered by the cleanup aspect of it (I have a ton of black oaks that drop leaves and acorns every year, it can't be much worse). Plus, the fact that it's a native tree taken from cuttings on my own property adds some value to it, and the size of the leaves adds a novelty factor for those not acquainted with local flora.