the tree was struggling and I figured it needed all the leaves it had ==>> pure genius.. if i say so myself ... i have quoted you a hundred times .. in the last few years ..... lol ... at this size ... age ... etc... i think you ought to go find something else to worry about ... this thing is bulletproof ... i see the clay cracking in the hole... but some peeps say a root mass can be twice as big as the tree ... though in a different form ... so even if the disturbed soil at the trunk is dry ... who cares... its roots are 20 feet in every direction by now.. and it is not suffering for water ... and the pic shows that ... and i think i see some fine lawn out there.. if you fert the lawn.. this will get any and all fert it ever needs.. no need to ever fert this tree again.. in any manner .... and finally.. nice to see a planting ... with a tree planted far enough from the house.. that it wont crush it ... in the decades to come... its like you really thought this all out.. and acted accordingly .. in other words .. great job all around ... it so refreshing to see someone who did not plant it 15 inches from the house.. and now wants to know.. if it will effect the foundation .. or on top of the septic field.. etc ... two thumbs up ... just dont worry about it any more ... ken

It is amazing. Speaking with the farmer behind us he believes his corn is about 2 weeks behind because the rainfall has come down in very short periods and mostly run off. On top of that most of the large rain producing systems have gone either north or south of us so far. It all evens out in the end so of course last night and today we got pounded with rain. On the bright side I will not have to water it for a while. The mulch now does look kind of weird compared to the way everyone else piles up mulch to the trunk. Hopefully as it grows I can expand the mulch ring and keep it not as deep so that it is more flat and does not draw attention to the flare as if it disappears into a hole of mulch. Thanks for all the advice and I will keep an eye on the tree the rest of the summer and provide updates. My hope is that the tree is putting a lot of energy into creating new roots so that way it can take up nutrients and plant itself firmly in the ground since it is in a very windy location. Then in the next couple of years it can start adding height. Kimberly, keep me updated if your tree retains its leaves. Mine have been red for a few weeks and none have dropped. My hope is that they will stay on for some time and then those branches will leaf out again next year. Do you have pictures of the tree? I would be interested to see if it looks the same as mine posted. I hope I can ask one more question: When a tree is stressed and drops leaves early, does that branch also die? For example, on the couple of branches that all the leaves are red, do the leaves just die off or does the branch usually die off and need to be cut out the following year? My thoughts on the landscapers/nurseries that sell the trees are they are much more short sighted that what we believe. I think it is not much about selling you another tree down the road when the one they put in dies. I think it is about the process of putting it in. They came with a 2 Â 2.5" caliber tree with a large root ball and a bag of mulch. They left with nothing. I would think that once they dig this big of a hole, plant the tree and use some to backfill, they would be left over with quite a bit of clay from deep in the hole. Instead of taking it away they just pile it on top of the root ball, cover it with mulch and leave empty handed. If you think about it, and they had to take away just a few buckets of soil from each tree they planted, this would create a problem for them with what to do with it. It is much easier on their part to plant wrong that do what is right. It is too bad because if they would have just left a pile of the soil that was not needed, I could have found a use for it.

Well I'm late to this party, but here's my $0.02. I like AB. I have one, and a Autumn Fantasy. Both grew 3+ feet for me this year. Several people on my street have Red Sunset Maples on well fertilized lawns, and they grew 12-20". There is an October Glory where I work that grew 12-15" without fertilizer. So my my Zone 6B, Autumn Blaze and Autumn Fantasy in no way shape or form grow slower than red maples cultivars as some have claimed. Simply is not true. Also there is a large AB where I work that has a large trunk and is at least 40' tall. Very mature. It lost a very few limbs about 1-2" inches in size to the worst ice storm on record for where I live this past winter. Quarter mile down the road October Glories about 35' were HEAVILY damaged, though the one in front of my work had mild damage (smaller tree). Also in the case of AF, the parent tree originates in Illinois if i remember correctly, and survived many many ice storms without major damage. Lastly, the these red maple cultivars in my location color very late, and absolutely do not last as long. Fall color is reliably great here. Also the color of my AF is a darker more dark brick red, and is a more open tree. So personally, here where I live, all are good selections, but you won't beat the growth rate of AB/AF with a red maple. But I suggest that you consider Autumn Fantasy. Harder to find, but certainly worth it. Lastly, for climate reference sake, Sugar Maples are very common and long lived here. They are native and common in the hills if you know where to look even though they often are not shown to be present on many distribution maps. Arktrees

I think that would be an emphatic "no". There are lots of much smaller trees that have very similar vivid red fall color. What size were you hoping to keep a tree at?