Ken, as I stated in the original message, I am only asking out of curiosity...I am NOT complaining about the shape...only making an observation and asking a couple of questions about it. As a matter of fact, I rather like an irregularly shaped tree, so if it doesn't turn out to be an oval as I had believed it would, I'm perfectly OK with that...if it turns out to be oval, I'm OK with that, too. In regards to my comment about growth rate and not planting big anymore...as you state, I know now that a 5' tree planted 5 yrs ago would probably net the same size plant as I have today. This is true, which is why I now only plant smaller plants. I have learned my lesson. I am disappointed in the ABM's growth rate, as I was believing that I would get faster growth than I have (I would say my ABM has only grown about 6" per year the past 4 years). I did not expect fantastic growth the first season or even the second season, but the claims I read about 3+ feet of growth each year made me think that I could expect more than 6" each year, especially these past couple of years. This season, so far, I've seen a little over 6" of growth already and am hopeful that the faster growth is on it's way.

Climbers may not come into their own until the third or fourth year, and their repeat bloom is normally much lighter than their spring flush. Was the rose you remember in the same geographical area? There are some climbers better adapted to zone 5 winters than Blaze.

Multi-trunk maple trees, by necessity, cannot grow perpendicular to the ground, thereby making them vulnerable to weather related breaks in their limb structure. I like to choose a single, straight trunked tree. It will be better able to support its heavy canopy of limbs and leaves when it matures. By the way, there are "Red Sunset" (18' tall, 7" caliper, and 8 yrs. old, is a relatively slow grower - averaging about 1.5' per year), "Caddo Sugar Maple" (25', 11" caliper and 10 years old, moderate growth of 2'-2.5' per annum ), "Autumn Blaze" (15', 2.5" caliper and newly planted is supposed to grow about 3' per year after it gets established) maples currently on my property with an "October Glory" (15' and 2.5" caliper, and a similar growing potential to the "Autumn Blaze") due to arrive in the next week or two. Sugar maples that do so well in northern and eastern climates, reportedly do poorly here in Oklahoma. In any case, one rarely sees them here. In any case, I purchased my "Autumn Blaze" after watching a neighbor's tree develop into an outstanding specimen tree, displaying stunning fall colors that keep on going well into November. If you choose a healthy maple specimen which generally does well in your region of the country, plant it well, and give it reasonably good care, most of the cultivars currently available in reputable nurseries and tree farms should give you a lifetime of pleasure and enjoyment, preempting the fear of having made a "bad choice".

Agree, planted too deep. The bark damage looks to be sunscald as all the damage is facing the street. It is 'healing' though. The third picture shows more recent damage on the wound on top. The crack below it could have been from mishandling when being transported or planted, as in strain between the rootball and trunk and is just now showing up. That happens more often with large trees rather than small ones. Do they get any additional water other than rainfall? A couple of years ago I spent a wonderful day wandering around Myriad Gardens in downtown OK city. Mike