They are two completely different trees. A.s. 'Aureum' is the Golden Full Moon maple zube

I am growing several of the Golden Full Moon Maples, Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum', that I purchased as one year old grafts. They are easy to grow and very hardy, but need acidic soil, sun to partial shade and the patience of Jobe!, as they are an extremely slow growing tree. It will require many years for it to attain a mature stature of 12-15 ft. Since they are a Maple, they are also thirsty, but don't overwater them. Rb

I'm in zone 5 Ottawa,Canada. Zone 4 for you in the US. They used to say you couldn't grow J.maples around here. But for 20 years I always could, and have never lost any, except 2 variegated ones. I have about 25 varieties, a sort of J. maple forest in my back yard & I am running out of room. Good thing they are dwarf trees, unlike our native maples that grow to 50 ft. I wholesale them from (grown in)BC, zone 7-8. They do not loose hardiness by grafting and propagating in a milder climate. The hardiness is built into the plant. I will say that they can sometimes be slow to establish, and this is the important part. Any tree should be planted early and well cared for in the first season, so it is well established going into it's first winter. I don't believe in bare root trees doing well, too slow to establish, or over wintering in a pot. They should always be planted in the ground and well mulched. I do think they prefer a more acidic soil. Ours is neutral approx. 6-7ph, so I spread sulphur everywhere every couple of years to acidify a little.(I don't like pink hydrangeas, prefer blue) I saw a study once, out of U of Michigan I think, where when they tested plants, and they found that plants growing in acidic soil seemed a little hardier than the same plants growing in more alkaline soils. In the past I have used geo-textile fleece as a winter cover for the first few winters, but snow makes a great insulator as well. I get a bit of tip dieback sometimes, but it doesn't matter since they grow back very well, as if they were pruned. There is a sort of wilt going around in J. maples lately, others have noticed as well. It doesn't hurt the tree, it just attacks some of the newest growing tips as they are finished flushing out in summer....sort of self pruning. We regularly get to minus 22 celcius (-10 far.)here most winters, with minimal problems. Even with last winter, the worst in 20 yrs., there were no losses. The only damage I ever notice is the heavy snow pack in spring, will sometimes crack the weeping types as it weighs them down and melts. Variegated types do seem less hardy, possibly due to the fact that variegation is a mutation and therefore weaker. Red and green types are perfectly hardy. They all seem hardier as they get older. thanks, Rich

pruning.. done right ... is a personal preference .. and really has nothing to do with a trees natural shape ... in fact ... the best pruners prune like crazy ... and you never know.. because it ends up in a natural shape .... and if you put it right there by the path ... it will be easy to prune.. and right in your face.. whenever you walk by ... i agree with gal ... no pruning for a couple years ... a tree should have a root mass 2 to 3 times what you see above ,.. and a BB had 95% of that cut off .. to get it to your house ... every leaf is a food making machine... so leaving as much of the canopy as you can.. for as long as you can .. will allow it to regrow that root mass .... try to think in tree time which is decades .. rather than or instant gratification world of.. i want to start cutting on it next season for instant impact ... you said : This tree is starting to send up some healthy shoots from about 8-10 inches from the base, and if I let them grow, they will probably grow into stems. ===>> i am guessing you mean multiple trunks ... again .. that would be a personal choice as to your 10 year pruning goals ... if too many are left to grow.. it will probably look like a shrub for quite a few years ... but then eventually .... you could start raising the canopy on each trunk and end up with a pretty cool multi-trunked plant... if you have the patience to wait for your goal ... HOWEVER ... if you ever see shoots down low.. that have a different leaf .. get rid of those asap ... they would be coming from below the graft ... from the root stock ... and are never preferred to the plant you paid money for.. above the graft .... see link on dealing with clay soil .... have you ever perked your soil to determine drainage???? .. clay soil is mostly a transplanting issue ... and once the tree gets itself situated.. ESTABLISHED ... its not really a problem ... it boils down to you knowing enough about your soils drainage capacity.. so you can water it properly .. without drowning it .. before it gets itself free range ... i say.. if it will make you happy.. to put it by the path.. then make yourself happy .. lifes too short ... ken https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub