Autumn Blaze vs Tulip Tree
Pat z6 MI
14 years ago
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iforgotitsonevermind
14 years agoarktrees
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Autumn Blaze Maple bent/curved
Comments (11)To be clear, I have no qualms with staking trees that actually need staking. For example, the thousand or so bare-root street trees we plant each year get two stakes, whether they need it or not.......simply because at the time of planting, and with this big an investment, we don't necessarily know which ones are going to be in a little wind tunnel, which ones are going to be messed with by school kids walking by......so we just stake them all. But like ark says above, we leave the apparatus loose enough for the trunk to move around, thereby securing the benefits this offers to the tree's ultimate strength and stability. And these stakes do not remain on the tree beyond the one-year mark. My beef, and the one I was alluding to above, is the practice of mindlessly tying that bamboo stick to every young plant in the propagation phase. Sure is a lot of weak-stemmed junk being so produced, and completely needlessly. I think it yet another manifestation of human lack of patience: We want the d*mn thing to stand up straight, even before it's ready to! Look at a young elm some time....weakest-looking floppy thing you'd ever see. Then look at that same tree five years later: Straight trunk, beautiful structure, all on its own. For the most part, these trees really do know how to grow without our assistance! The various 'tropisms' of which Strobiculate speaks up above having asserted their influences on the matter, to perfection. +oM...See MoreAutumn Blaze or something different?
Comments (8)Stack, you certainly have sufficient room there for an AB-or for any full-sized shade tree. I like this tree just fine. As the other gentlemen have pointed out, it has become ubiquitous. The only knock I've got against it is that it's not exactly a "plant it and forget about it" kind of tree, simply because for best results, considerable structural pruning should be done in its youth. It has a propensity towards narrow crotch angles and these are often weak points in the tree later on when limbs get large and heavy. "Subordination pruning" is the answer but not every guy with a saw knows what that is. For my part, I like the idea of genetic variability. As such, I'm into species, not just named cultivars which are clones. But ironically enough, it is harder to find straight species of many, uh, species than it is to find named cultivars! Some kind of oak could be a good idea there too and they don't grow as slowly as you will sometimes hear. I put two swamp white oak whips in my folks yard oh, eight or ten years ago, and they're nice good-sized trees already. One final point-the oft-heard rule that fast-growing tree=weak-wooded tree is true among broadleaved deciduous trees. But while you're not asking about conifers at present, that rule breaks down quickly within that class of trees. Out west for example, there's this tree called the redwood. Grows very fast, lasts a thousand years or more! There are similar though less dramatic examples throughout the conifer kingdom. +oM...See MoreAutumn Blaze Red Maple - normal spring growth?
Comments (1)Looks normal to me. The new leaves normally hang down for a week or so before opening up. At first they look as if they are wilting. Mike...See MoreAutumn Blaze vs Sienna Glenn ?? Faster..Rounder ???
Comments (7)While the soil in my neighborhood is definitively "alkaline", I don't know that it could be termed "super alkaline". In any case, Autumn Blaze trees outperform Red Sunset and October Glory in growth habit and color in our area. . . in my opinion (GrandmaGrasshopper used to say, "Opinions are like belly buttons, almost everyone has one." ;^) While it is true that Autumn Blaze trees tend to grow rapidly, a legacy of their silver maple heritage, their upward branching tendency and wood density (hardness) inherited from their red maple parentage apparently compensate for what might otherwise prove to be a concern. After five years of envying a neighbor's Autumn Blaze, I took the plunge and ordered two of the critters which will be planted in the next month or so....See Morewisconsitom
14 years agospruceman
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agoToronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
14 years agoiforgotitsonevermind
14 years agospruceman
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agoEmbothrium
14 years agoarktrees
14 years agoiforgotitsonevermind
14 years agoarbordave (SE MI)
14 years agoPat z6 MI
14 years agoarktrees
14 years agoPat z6 MI
14 years agoPat z6 MI
13 years agoarktrees
13 years agoTim
13 years ago
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