I have one variety of sugar maple supposedly from local (N.e.Georgia) provenance and it leafed out somewhat early before the easter freezes. After that the leaves appeared to be tattered and burned like leaf scorch... I have noticed this on others in the area too. I have 3 other sugar maples in my yard, all of which are from a northern provenance I presume. They hadn't leafed out until a couple of weeks after easter. Thus they were not effected by the freeze and their leaves are in perfect condition. Maybe the freeze had something to do with it? Some trees that were leafing out during the time of freeze are no worse for the wear and totally recovered but the one that is still struggling to recover is a ginkgo which has stunted leaves and looks horrible. I have what looks like leaf scorch on a serviceberry too.

it is possible and every so often someone makes it sound easy. Commercially I believe all the maple clones are grafted. Think it is more instant gratification. Also I have read sugar maple is not easy to root but hey, it is a fun experiment. FWIW, as a novice I find it easier to root than to graft. I have a whopping 0% success rate chip budding or grafting due to poor skill and lack of effort to make proper facilities. Air layering and just plain old rooting have worked for me though. I have rooted cuttings of a few suckering bushes and it is always a coupke years before you have a real red twig dogwood or purple leaf plum or whatever. It must be success rate or something that benefits grafting. I dislike the graft line at the bottom of my Metasequoia Ogon but I suppose they have a good reason for grafting rather than rooting. Here is a link that might be useful: link to simple thread

Although Sugar maples are native in TN, if you bought a generic, non named tree, you have no way of knowing if its seed came from TN, or somewhere like Ohio or Vermonet....seed provenance matters. It might do better over time simply by having a more extensive root system, but in your zone you are better off with either verifiable TN seed source, or a named variety like Legacy or the Caddo types that tolerate hot summers better.

Interesting, the publication by Wright also shows hybrids with Acer platanoides (Norway maple) and Acer negundo (Boxelder maple), as well as Acer saccharinum (Silver maple) and Acer negundo (Boxelder maple). It would be interesting to see such a study replicated, and for a full growth cycle for the hybrids to take place. I live in Utah, and the native Acer grandidentatum (Bigtooth maple, close sugar maple relative) flowers at the same time as the invasive non-native Norway maple in our foothills at about 4,500 ft. Sometimes bees cross-polinate them, I'm sure of it when both trees grow near. Bees still prefer the Norway maple for its showy and nectar rich flowers. Both insects and wind pollinate them, but mostly wind because sometimes it is too cold for bees to work. I have grown some potential hybrids between the Norway and Bigtooth maple, from a Bigtooth maple 'female' tree, and the seedlings were weak, waxy/glossy, and lime green possibly from iron chlorosis. None of those made it after a week...