Ken, I appreciate your feedback. The link below would be why I'm concerned. If you look at the pictures, they are not so different from some ares of my trees graft. And it would seem from some other things that I have read in Gardenweb, that there is some incidences of this in sugar maples. Hence my concern. Though you made the statement that it looked to you like an older graft, and that is useful to know. As far as the rest. I was trying to get a complete description of possible relevant information, and that the tree seemed to be fine otherwise, though without growth, I can't determine if the morphology of the graft is changing. I didn't expect any growth last year after planting and there was none. Leaves did fall as expected for a new transplant, but there was only spots of color on the leaves (again expected as a new transplant). The tree originated (according to the tag) from J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. Nursery, and was shipped in at the beginning of last spring season. There are much larger Balled and Burlaped trees available, but I wanted container grown to preserve (miss the cutting for circling roots) the roots and get faster establishment. It was planted so that the top of the rootball could be accessed to determine moisture levels of the rootball from the container. I water the tree slowly as needed for the first few months using gallon jugs that had a small hole in the bottom to drip water so that I could apply slowly only to the rootball as needed, since the potting mixture holds relatively little water. Before the period of summer 90+ weather was done, it no longer needed this special watering, as root had apparently expanded into surrounding soil. There is mulch surrounding the tree, though I did let Bermuda grass cover the mulch and potting mixture in late season. This helps to moderate the temperatures in the soil, and will be removed just as soon as the local flora begins to grow, along with more mulch. The tree is also planted on a mound of several inches (not visible in photos) of loosened native soil, so as to improve drainage in new construction home, while I'm working to improve the soil around the tree (the grass is doing VERY well at loosening the soil). The soil has been analyzed, and nutrient problems are being addressed. As far as age of the tree, I can't say for sure. J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. site would indicated it's 2-3 years from the "Whip" stage of production. From the best information that I can gather, Commemoration grows at around 2+ feet per (double or so the type species) year, under good conditions. Almost as fast as Norway Maple. On a side note, from the description of it's origination (I dug up the patent application using Google; patent applications are a great source for information BTW), it would seem to be a polyploid sport. Meaning it ended up with multiple "sets" of chromosomes instead of the standard set of two pairs. The faster (vigorous) growth, thicker leaves, larger leaves etc. are all common characteristics of polyploids, though I do not KNOW that this cultivar is or is not a polyploid. I don't know, and haven't been able to find allot of info on delayed graft incompatibility. I certainly don't want to loose the tree, as it's a nice tree that seems to be doing as well as can be expected to this point, but that does not preclude delayed graft incompatibility (can be seen in the red maple of the photo's). Thanks for your help. Here is a link that might be useful: Delayed graft incompatibility

I don't know about compatibility but it shouldn't be hard to find sugar maple seedlings. Look for forestry seedlings from state government run forestry departments. Now is the season to get them. Unfortunately, now is not the time to graft them. Wait until they are dormant again. During spring the rootstock will be growing actively and sap could flood and kill the graft union. summer grafting is possible but more difficult, That will give you a season to pot up and grow your new seedlings a little. And try as many seeds as you can get. They will not be clones, but still come from this seemingly sentimental specimen. If you grow enough you will find one you like, maybe better than the parent.

pteroceltis, It looks like you have a bit more experience with this tree than I do. As you can see by my User Name, I'm a big fan of Acer griseum. Here's what I do know that may help you: Seeds: Most seeds contain an embryo and hardly any endosperm to speak of. Another plant that shares this characteristic is the orchid. Understanding how the orchid propagates naturally by seed, I think, can help us understand how griseum does as well. The orchid bursts out millions of dust-like seeds on the forest floor. Those that land on a specific fungi will find the nutrients necessary for the seed to germinate. On their own, they do not have the CHO or the proteins to create roots or shoots. Likewise, griseum needs a food-source for germination. Also, the casing is extremely hard and thick. Scarification really isn't enough. It's a wonder that the tree has made it this far in evolution. Forgive me if you don't believe in evolution. Whether we came from a similar ancestor as the monkey or not, plants do adapt over time, and natural selection does occur. Anyway, some propagators have had success using this understanding and have almost surgically removed the embryos and placed them in a nutrient-rich petri-dish. The embryo germinates and we have a new plant. Vegetative propagation: The general rule is, the younger the stem tissue, the more likely it will root. Seedling cuttings root pretty easily. But, seedlings are small and have very little stem to use. It's like a cycle: Take a seedling, cut it, root it, you now have another seedling. And, to get the original seedling, you have to get the seed to germinate. The trick we use is to almost force the well-established stock plant to succor: Hack it down low to the ground. Then, several immature stems come up. Then, use those to root. But, you have to let it grow green a little to continue to feed the roots. So, let one stem grow as a leader for the season. Ok, that's griseum. But, the other plant you mentioned was cappadocicum. I will not pretend to be an expert on this plant. I know that it is related to truncatum; which easily hybridizes with platanoides (Norway). Is Norway not an aggressive weed up in your part of the country? So, my assumption - and sorry this was so long - my assumption is that Forestfarm used cappadocicum as a rootstock because of it's aggressive tendencies to your area. But, it is not as aggressive as platanoides. So, you have a rootstock that will be extremely successful in your area with an ornamental top. Here's the concern: Maples are broken down into several groups. There really should be several genus' to break them down. Perhaps there will some day. For example, the Sugar Maple Group contains: Sugar, Silver, Red, Bigtooth Boxelder, Black, and some others. Japanese, for example, is not one of them. Nor is griseum. However, Boxelder is. Follow me here. The more related they are, the more compatible they are and the more likely the graft will take and last. I talked with a professor by e-mail at Penn State a few years ago. He was doing a test on graft compatibility of a Red scion and a Sugar stock. It looked successful for six years. During the seventh year, the graft split and the trees fell at the graft. I don't know if griseum and cappadocicum are in the same group or not. I don't believe they are. However, Boxelder is trifolate and is in the Sugar group. cappadocicum is almost a webbed palm. As far as maples go, there isn't a more entire leaf that I've seen. It's the flower, fruit and seed that determines the relatedness, not the leaf. So, I'd ask Forestfarm just how long this union has lasted in their experience. Just because it took in the greenhouse and lasted a few years at the farm, does not mean it will last for a lifetime in someone's landscape. I'm sorry if I confused or frustrated you. I just want you to understand why I would check with the grower their success on it. I'd hate your favorite tree to fall over one of the years during a wind storm. ericpaul

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...