October Glory or Autumn Blaze?

12 years ago

Hi,

We are new to the tree planting world and are looking to replace a silver maple we took down a couple of years ago. We looked into red oak, tulip poplar and maples. My husband has his preferences narrowed down to October Glory or Autumn Blaze. The tree will be in our front yard (roughly 60' wide) where a Norway maple (I think) grows off to the side. That tree will be coming out as soon as the new one is established because the roots have grown into our sewer line and we are going to need extensive work done. Our intention is that the new tree will be the only tree in the front yard. I want a tree without the invasive surface roots that the Silver Maple had. The existing maple would have been perfect where the Silver was and my original thought was to plant one there. But the Autumn Blaze and October Glory are what he has come up with.

I've seen the fall color which will be a nice plus and something to enjoy, but my greatest concerns are roots, shade and long-term health. Which of these has less chance for surface roots and a more-rounded growing habit to provide more shade across our house? Is there anything else I should look at when comparing these two trees?

Thanks for any thoughts or tips. We want to get this right as this is the only tree we hope to plant out there!

Featured Answer

whaas_5a

12 years ago

If you have alkaline soil cross October Glory off the list.

I see your in zone 7a, both plants seem to have a serious issue with frost cracking in zone 6. Something to consider if they are exposed to south sun.

October glory might be considered a bit more rounded. Autumn blaze is much faster growing.

Both will have surface root issues down the road. Neither plant is good for gardening under after its quite established.

Acer truncatum is a bit more rounded and has less aggressive roots. The 'Fire Dragon' cultivar has intense red fall color.

Comments (9)

rmac78
12 years ago
I was in the same situation 2 years ago. We went with the October Glory after dozens of recommendations. The Autumn blaze is half silver maple and has a lot of the same issues. My october Glory fall color this year was outstanding.
momtofour
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the info, rmac78. I saw that Autumn blaze was a cross of silver maple and was concerned it would have those tendencies. But then I couldn't seem to find anything definitive about October Glory and didn't want to buy it if it was a cross, too!

Does October Glory have a more rounded shape as well?
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I think fifteen feet is not too close for smaller trees. I bet your spot is mostly sun so that will present some difficulties as smaller trees are mostly understory types. The dogwoord, Cornus florida is the native but Cornus kousa is probably the easiest. There are 1010101 forms of japanese maple. Some get large enough they may reach out fifteen feet I suppose. Sun tolerance will be your biggest problem. I own a tree form of Service Berry. it flowers, has berries and good fall color. May rival the dogwoods if it proves easy to maintain. Redbud is abundant here. Kind of a one trick pony with a good flower display but limited fall color. I think the green heart shaped leaves interest ppl. Fifteen feet, huh. Man it is a fussy transplant but Nyssa syvatica is a sharp tree that usually is not huge in residential settings. Of all these the redbud grows the fastest. Fifteen feet.... I think you would be ok on anything with a projected thirty foot spread. Branches over your home are sorta old school in my opinion, A/C is reliable and somewhat inexpensive now so the risks and worry and maintenance of large trees on small lots seems 1950ish to me. Although I still admire a good brick home under its big oaks when I see one. If you can find a five foot tall tree in a couple gallon pot locally I think that would be your best bet for success, instant gratification and cost.
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Ok, so I have another thought on the front of the house. To get two of the catalpa in the front I think I can fit it it I push one over to 5ft from the drive way. I feel like that's super close but this is supposed to be a tree with non-destructive, non-aggressive roots and a mature trunk diameter of 3ft. If I'm thinking right that should leave 4 1/2 feet between the tree and the driveway at maturity. That's really hugging the driveway but it leaves 30ft to the next catalpa and 27ft to the Plumb. Again it's the existing trees that make this tight. If the plumb we're there I'd have gobs of room. I checked the specks on the plumb it should be 10ft - 12ft wide at maturity so I think that will work well with the 20ft - 40ft catalpa. They may just barely connect when both are at full maturity. So it comes out to two catalpa's at 30ft from the house with the West one at 5ft from the drive way and 20ft from the well, with the next catalpa 30ft away from the first and 27ft from the plumb. Think that's a workable plan? Too close to the drive way each other and surrounding trees?
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ilovemytrees
12 years ago
I have an October Glory and 2 Red Sunset Maples. I love all of them, as per my username. lol

I absolutely adore my October Glory. I have had NO problems with crack issues at all. I wrap the trunks up to the branch line though with tree wrap right before Thanksgiving and they all do just great. We put a 6 foot hardware cloth fence around them to keep the rabbits out. We usually have 4 feet of snow in our backyard all winter long, and the rabbits out here are numerous as are deer. Even found a chipmunk the other day. First chipmunk we've ever seen out here in the almost 10 years we've lived here.

To get back to the trees, my October Glory grew 2 1/2 feet this spring and summer. Amazing! The fall color of the Red Sunsets are so gorgeous you wouldn't believe it. We had just planted our Red Sunsets last fall so they grew less than a foot this year, but that's what our October Glory did the first year of planting too.

You would adore having an October Glory, the tree is beautiful. I love the shape and they grow so fast if you water them well. They like their feet wet for sure. All my trees are on the SE part of my property and get full sun all day long. Never had a problem with cracking or anything.
whaas_5a
12 years ago
Very true, if you wrap them they definitely won't have as many issues.

You'd have to sustain that for quite some time until the bark starts developing ridges.
dirtman16
12 years ago
I have an October Glory in zone 7b that does wonderfully. It's turning red/orange right now and has grown at least 2-3 feet per year since I planted it (was about 10 feet tall at planting). It's probably the best performing tree in my yard.

I had a couple of Autumn Blazes in my old yard in south Alabama (zone 8). They had reliable, almost fluorescent fall foliage there (which is unusual that far south), but I was unimpressed with their overall form. I think the October Glory is structurally a much better specimen. And it's by no means a slow grower.
noki
12 years ago
Some nice October Glory pics in this thread.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/trees/msg112143551178.html?6

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Web link
momtofour
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you for the info! We decided on the October Glory and got it in the ground last week. I can't wait to watch this tree next year! I think we'll wrap it to avoid frost cracking as advised. How do we handle watering over the winter? We'll be turning our outside faucets off soon, but I assume it'll still need watering? If so, what's a nice slow way to do it by container?

I'm very grateful to have this forum to be able to get advice from those who have been there!
ennenjm
7 years ago
Hi Momtofour, I happened upon this thread comparing the same two trees. It's been 5 years since you planted yours, on the off chance that you'll get a notification on this, any problems with your October Glory, and are you happy with your choice?

October Glory or Autumn Blaze?

whaas_5a

Comments (9)

rmac78

momtofour
Original Author

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October Glory or Autumn Blaze?

whaas_5a

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rmac78

momtofourOriginal Author

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momtofour
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