There are some impressive silver maples in theses parts. Toronado, it’s nice to hear from you. I like the title of your post, which could also have been, “cheap horticultural thrills.” Or maybe, “true horticultural confessions.”

As long as what I plant is native, I don’t need to confess or feel cheap. My horticultural confession is I planted Norway Maple. I hope you’re not thinking I committed a botanical transgression, but it was variegated and plant lust had a grip on me.

I like silver maples too..when they're growing in the wild. I abhor the standing murder sticks that my neighbors have that are mostly dead and just waiting to fall on my garage (or surrounding yards children). They should not be yard trees unless kept under the height of the dimensions of your yard, every silver maple is a disaster waiting for a wind storm or ice storm to unleash.
On my own faults, I planted a wisteria (no, not the Japanese one, but the american native) and unleashed it on the chain link fence, which will probably collapse in ten years under it's weight. Of course, I could maintain it....yeah..right.

Current property has a large silver maple in the back yard shading the side patio and garage. I have to say, I've come to appreciate it. This must be a seedless selection since I have not had a samara in 10 years. Once the flowers fall off it doesn't drop anything else the rest of the season until the leaves which fall pretty quickly mid-season once they've gone yellow. When it comes to dropping stuff and storms it has been fine. Same amount as some other trees in the neighborhood like the Ash, Honeylocust and American elms. Nothing big so far.

I think the 'large branch breakage' is overblown with Silver maples. But reason enough not to plant them so they will hang over buildings or vehicles.

I do see branches 2-4" in diameter laying on the ground after wind quite frequently.

Actually not from my experiences, I've seen rural roads completely blockaded after storms here by silvers whether high winds or ice several times (hint: my grandfather planted a row of them on both sides of the road)

As I drive north in southern PA, I see quite a number of very attractive silver maples -- a few are starting to turn a happy pale yellow. Some grow almost like Amer elms w/arching crowns, others wide-spreading like oaks. If out in the open and/or away from structures & utilities, I see nothing wrong w/them. Big one in Bedford, PA.

Our backyard is full of silver maples. Best money we spent when we bought this property was to have them limbed back as they were arching too close to the house and had them all strapped. Even with all that huge limbs still go down at times after a storm. They make me uneasy on windy days for sure.

My true confession is one Syringa reticulata (Japanese tree lilac) that we planted bc the dw wanted more summer blooms to look at.

All my larger trees are strictly native to MN. Sorry. ;-)

My "Embarrassing Horticultural Revelation" is that I love the Ailanthus Tree aka Tree of Heaven for all the reasons that others hate it- it grows like a weed in the city and it smells weird to other people in June, but I love the scent in June!

And...Creeping Campanula aka Campanula rapunculoides aka Creeping Bellflower .

I love it...and there are so many "haters" on garden sites putting it down which makes me laugh...who hates a flower for being a foreigner, and looking exactly like the native, and only distinguishable by tearing apart the blossom base and examining it?!?!

I like box elders

L Clark, I like box elder wood!

My neighbor has one which really does nothing negative to me. It even has decent form. Well that one time in '13 when the tornado lifted across the street the box elder lost a branch which flew over and peeled back some of my siding. I caught it quick enough it didn't crease somehow.