i am in adrian mi ... prime planting time in MI ... is ground thaw in late march ... minimum 6 to 8 weeks before leaf out ... OR!!!!! and late sept thru about now ... so this is your window of opportunity ... for next year ... gee tree farm is just north of jackson MI ... off I-94 ... with a 15 acre arboretum .. and hundreds of acres of trees... it would be a brilliant trip ... NOW ... call ahead... ask for cary ... and explain what you are looking for .. and ask if their field trees are still holding leaves.. and if you could mark some for next summer .. it might require a deposit ... and that is up to them ..... [i would have you mention my name.. but i dont know if it would be a positive.. lol ] .. make an appointment for someone with a golf cart to whisk you around the property .... you might be able to find some out your way also ... google tree farms grand rapids ... the larger the tree.. the more roots you cut off to transplant ... no tree will perform to expectations until it regrows its root mass .. so a larger tree.. will take years longer to recover ... smaller will get 'established' faster .. and can outgrow a larger specimen.. inside 5 years .. not to mention.. if you are doing this yourselves.. how to move.. transport ... carry.. and plant.. a humongous ball and burlap.. sans heavy machinery ... i have tried that.. nearly ended up needing surgery .. not cool ... my dichotomy.. is based on you doing it.. versus big checkbook professional installation ... its not that it cant be done... its what can be done in your budget .... i am impressed you are so far ahead of the curve... usually peeps want instant gratification.. rather than planning a year out ... should you be thinking of doing this yourself.. read.. digest. and commit to memory.. EVERYTHING at the link ... doing it the right way... really matters .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Absolutely nothing wrong with any of the Freeman maples - they are widely planted across much of the country and Autumn Blaze is perhaps the most widely sold and planted maple cultivar in the world. The freemans combine the best features of both species - red maple and sugar maple. Based only on your description and the form of the tree, I'd guess Autumn Blaze as well. Not nearly tightly columnar enough for Armstrong. But it would take an examination of the tree in proper leaf together to be assured of a correct ID.

Foliage does not block sound. Japanese maples do tend to make dense summer foliage (good for screening at that time of the year), you might try 'Shishigashira' for one that has a suitable growth habit for your situation. All of the many varieties of Japanese maple need good drainage. A solid, intact pipe will not be affected by tree roots, these are only attracted to leaks. Even then a Japanese maple is not the type that would be particularly likely to clog pipes, if anything your existing hedge would probably get in their first (unless much farther away). The maple will not bother the hedge noticeably unless branching right against or over it, if you ever want to walk between the two you need to plant the maple far enough to the front to allow for that anyway.

Indian plum, Oemleria cerasiformis. White flowers in very early spring, purple fruit which the birds love. Here is a link that might be useful: oemleria