October Glory vs. Red Sunset

16 years ago

I am trying to choose between these 2 maple trees and other than mature height and spread there does not seem to be much of a difference. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also can anyone give an approximate cost to purchase and have this planted by a nursery. I am thinking of a 2 1/2 - 3" caliper tree?

Thanks for your help.

Comments (4)

mattlwfowler
16 years ago
Well there isn't much difference between the two from my experience. Usually october glory is a bit more compact, while red sunset spreads a bit quicker. The fall colors are usually similar. October glory may have a bit more leafhopper resistance, but Brandywine probably has the best (and better fall color on most of the trees I've seen in my region). I would personally go with brandywine if I had the option between the whole group, but all are significant improvements over the species IMO.
conifers
16 years ago
I can't be of much help other than my books.

Here's what Jacobson, Arthur Lee says and he's opinionated:

Acer rubrum 'October Glory' PP2116 (1961)
Introduced in 1961-62 by Princeton nursery of New Jersey. Leaves with long red stems; stay green longer than usual into autumn, extending the seasonal display, giving dependable late-season crimson-red fall color. Tree rounded, not dense. Female. (Females Produce Seeds which = weeds)

'Red Sunset' Acer rubrum
Originated in the late 1940's by Schmidt nursery of Boring, OR. Introduced in 1966. The most commonly planted Red Maple cultivar in the 1970's and '80's. The name was inspired by the song "Red Sails in the Sunset." Its fall color, at least in the north, is long-lasting and superb orange-red. The tree makes a broadly oval crown. Leaves glossy, thick, strongly three-lobed. Female.

Here are some other interesting sounding ones to me:

'Drake' Acer rubrum: Named after Virgil James Drake of County Line nursery, Hartford, MI. Introduced by Schmidt nursery of Boring, OR. Tree of normal growth rate, its crown fairly natural-looking, not markedly round or pyramidal. But its fall color begins very early and goes through changes lasting a long time: distinctively turning from green to a colored border through shades of blue-violet to red and yellow.

He doesn't list a favorite.

Dax
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Had a Brandywine back in Pittsburgh. It turned a nice red-color most of the time, sometimes with a touch of magenta or maroon. My memory says that it peaked in late Oct - it usually had full color or some leaves falling when the kids were trick or treating. The shape was the same as any other red maple as far as I could tell, kinda rounded or ovalish. I liked its summer foliage too...just a nice tree. This was zone 6a, so it might be a bit later to turn in fall in your zone.
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Yes, we are Sunset 3B here.... The sunshine on most days and temps in summer is the reason so much agriculture grows successfully here. Of course, they irrigate. I am surprised Wenatchee is the same zone as us, but I guess it doesn't take into account the amount of snowfall they get (They are probably the -15f extreme.. we are more like -5f.) RE: the suitability of the trees I listed, The Thornless Honeylocust seems to thrive here, it does well in alkaline soil and is drought tolerant. As a prairie tree, it thrives in full sun. I have noticed many honeylocusts in yards that do not irrigate, growing just fine... The list of negatives of the tree is pretty short, and it seems very adaptable to our conditions. Linden -- RE: irrigating, I don't know. We will have some lawn on the property, so a tree/trees in that area would get more water. Linden tolerates alkaline soil and has small leaves... Thus, it seemed to be an *option.* ash -- I still have to go to our local extension office.. I will ask them about borers here. Ash also tolerates alkaline soil and was another option for my lawn area. If the borers are that bad here, I won't consider it.
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If your in zone 5 or higher I wouldn't buy anything that has leaves on it right now. I'm not familar with the conquest maple...but on the October Glory Maple. October Glory Red Maple will grow to be about 50 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 40 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 7 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more. This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the leaves in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location.
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Actually, scratch my one post. Sorry to be so confusing. I DID know that Sugar maples were long lasting. It was the Red Sunset maple that I went with because I needed something faster growing to replace a tree in the front yard. It will unfortunately only last up to 150 years. I think where I got confused was that you mentioned in your 8 day old post that you wanted to go with a Sugar Maple. But then mentioned zeroing in on the Red Sunset, Red Maple or Autumn Blaze which are all varieties of Red Maple. Maybe I misunderstood that. Then you corrected that in today's post. I would not go with Autumn Blaze maple since it is a hybrid of the silver maple and less resilient to pests, I THINK. It's been a year since I was researching all of this.
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conifers
16 years ago
Jacobson, Arthur Lee ÂNorth American Landscape TreesÂ (1996); Ten Speed Press. ISBN:0898158133
Embothrium
16 years ago
Of the two in the thread title October Glory(R) PP 2116 = 'PNI 0268' is probably better overall. For more details try USPTO web site, plant patent (PP) number search using above number.

Here is a link that might be useful: Arboretum Fact Sheets & Award Winners

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October Glory vs. Red Sunset

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mattlwfowler

conifers

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