Very nice, like a warm orangey russet color. Pretty good for places that dont really get a real winter, much less a fall :p

Of course i live in south dakota so my perception of weather might be a bit skewed to most people's.

Well, we DO have winter here, fledgeling, but it's only 3 months long, and it never gets seriously cold. We had our first light freeze while I was gone - I could tell, because some of my more tender plants were burnt a little on top, and all the leaves are off my big-leaf magnolias. I don't think I'd like to live way up north or in south Florida either - I guess the amount of winter we get here is "home" to me!
Driving through north central Florida, I thought I was in Vermont!
Sherry

I have two of these Florida maples but they haven't turned colors yet, and they haven't grown nearly as fast as yours either.

The Red maples here are so dull looking, I never expect to see fall color from them.

Hehe Vermont? Come to the upper midwest in winter sometimes- its not a real winter untill you start to wonder if the skin on your face can really freeze off after a few moments outside. You start to feel it when your face goes numb and dry, and the skin does not seem to stretch as much as it should...

I think most plants have the lovely fall-color: brownish orange!

That's why I wouldn't want to live in the far north, fledgeling - a northerner told me a long time ago that your face can freeze off before you know it, and you'll wind up with serious frostbite. I never want to live in a place where it's that dangerous to go outside!
I'm surprised your Florida maples haven't changed color yet, Alabama, and also surprised that yours haven't grown much. One thing, I mix chicken manure into the soil or potting soil when I pot up or plant out my plants - I get REAL good growth with it!
Sherry

Sherry,

Its always a threat, but its usually its overstated. I said "start to think" suffices to say that if you wear appropriate clothing, there is no worry at all unless you get caught, and thatÂs why we are told to prepare for emergencies in the car and at home. I have had to be outside in really cold weather for hours at a time back in highschool for my job, and I never had any incidence of frostbite (well once, but it was minor). I have lived in the north all my life and there is no risk if you know what to do- frostbite is real threat but really a concern usually. Your skin on your face is sensitive, so it can send you the signals I described but still be perfectly fine Âand for me always is- reversed within moments of getting in a heated area. Just getting cold will make your face muscles go rather stiff  but I have never seen or known of anyone who knew of anyone who had their face frozen off!

"I never want to live in a place where it's that dangerous to go outside!"

Ditto for me, I'd not want to live in places where you get tornados in spring, heat stroke in summer, hurricanes in autumn, and alligators in the rivers . . .

;-))

Hmmm....I guess you think that's what I deal with down here, pineresin - there aren't any alligators in the rivers here (just immediate coastal Mississippi) I've got air conditioning to make the summers tolerable, tornadoes are rare in the Gulf South, and the ones that do occur aren't nearly of the scale of the north Alabama or Oklahoma twisters. The only thing that's terrible here is the hurricanes - another hurricane and I'm out of here! I don't know where I'd go though - I wanted to move to east Tennessee to the mountains after Katrina, but now that they're in the middle of a terrible drought, I'm glad I didn't.
Well, at least I'm having fun planting new shrubs, trees, vines, etc. because of Katrina!
Sherry

Sherry, the fall color in florida is extremely under-appreciated. It definitely does exist and is certainly worthy of a day of leaf peeping, having done it myself, I can attest to the fact that it can be very showy.

What is unforunate is even with such a wide range of native trees that provide great fall color and even exotics, deciduous trees are rare in garden centers down there. People either don't want them or assume they don't grow there. So they plant some crappy queen palm instead because it's there and it's cheap or some exotic flowering tree with only filtered shade, weak wood and no seasonal interest. So you don't see much color in populated areas where humans have come in wrecked it.

The cypress domes also provide a great display of color. That's something to look for in about a month from now though.

Yes, quirkyquercus, you're right! I much prefer the panhandle, because it's so much more natural than the peninsula. You should see where my daughter lives in North Tampa. It's a very impressive, gated community, with beautiful, neat-as-a-pin landscaping - the only native plants they used in this immaculate landscaping were live oaks. The natural areas are getting fewer and fewer in south Florida, really too bad!
Sherry

Since when was the UK totally safe? You could, like, choke on a crumpet or something.

Yeah, but that's not dangerous outside, that's dangerous inside ;-))

To return to Florida Maple, one other point, the correct scientific name is Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax, the name A. barbatum Michx. is based on specimens of A. saccharum so is a synonym of that species.

Ref.: Ward, D. B. (2004). Acer floridanum: the correct name of the Florida maple. Castanea 69:230Â233.

A lot of botanists also treat Acer floridanum as a subspecies of A. saccharum, but that's a separate issue open to taxonomic debate.

Resin

I think acer barbatum or florida sugar maple whatever the official name is, is actually more popular here in GA than in FL. There were some at a recent tree sale in atlanta.

And I lived in tampa for 2 years. Live oak is extremely over planted there. It is overplanted everwhere in florida. I have never been in the panhandle west of the tallahasee area but I hope that it remains relatively undisturbed for many eons to come.