Hi, all. I've been trying to find out why my roses are not thriving, and one theory that has been posed is that the roots from a maple tree are affecting them. This tree was planted by the city somewhere around 16-17 years ago, and is growing between the sidewalk and curb on a semi urban lot. It's about 20' high. The rose bed is about 15' from the tree.

I'd like to ask how far from the tree roots could grow, but I think I need to identify the species first, right? I read some of the posts here, and learned enough to know I need to know more. So I went looking on the internet, and there are so many species, I'm not sure where to start. Is there an easy, or at least not complicated, way to identify which maple it might be? It might help to know I am just a few miles northeast of Boston, within about 1/2 mile of the coast.

Thanks for any guidance anyone might be able to offer.
LynnT