Just for the sake of chronicling this experience, I ended up spraying right after my last reply. It took about 3 mins and exactly 1 gallon to do all the trees and some shrubs. The wind was so calm and I knew it was my only chance. It rains here about once or twice a month yet it will happen when i need it to stay dry. It looks like some light sprinkles now.

Lou, you are correct on the ID. Acer Acer pentaphyllum. Very rare, and VERY VERY endangered species. There may only be one small wild population left in a very small area that is not at all well protected. These are seed grown, germinated in March of this year. They are probable not cold hardy here, but then again I don't think anybody really knows how cold hardy they are. Probable because they are so rare that nobody wants to risk it. I intent to keep one that will spend winters in my garage, and then one might go to the local botanical garden, and the rest will eventually end up in warmer climes. hair, I agree the leaves are different on Bailsta, To me they look kinda "smoothed out" with with muted lobes, edges etc. The Commemoration has a much more classic Sugar Maple leaf shape to me. With SM I get a single very rapid flush of growth in the spring, and then they are done for the year. This flush can be enhanced with a strong shot of nitrogen at the proper time, and I in fact do this. I found a research paper from a couple decades ago that showed SM responded well to this, without adverse effects on wood strength, density, etc. But I'm careful not to over do it, as too much can contribute to disease/insect problems. I certainly do not use as much as tree farms to get the amount of growth that they can get in a year (it can be seen in the branching and bark for the last few years if you know what to look for). At this point I am likely done with fertilizer for this year even for the lawn. Seems to interfere with fall color. ghostlyvision, Lou, Elektron, Glad you like the pics that John and I was able to provide. GV aren't you in SE Texas somewhere. I remembered Lou moved toward Houston. Elektron IIRC is near San Antonio. Looks there some real good rain down you way last week. Been rooting for west Ok, and Texas to get well watered. It certainly benefits me if you do, because that helps keep that hell ridge away, and that is good for all of us. whass, Yes fairly strongly acidic soil as is most places in my area. IIRC the pH was in the 5.5-6.0 range. You would not expect this knowing that the hills around are made of mostly limestone, but we also have fairly high precip resulting in generally acidic soils. And you are correct, that is Cornus kousa Wolfeyes that will eventually be shaded by the Bailsta. I was looking at ordering a small graft last year of "Summer Fun" or "Wolfeyes". So late in about September after the worst of summer had past, I was at a local nursery, and it so happened that they had both of these in B&B in similar size, and basically in full sun all summer. The Wolfeyes had a very small amount of burn, the Summer Fun had much more burn, so I bought a 1 yr graft of Wolfeyes. October rolls around, and at another nursery I do not frequent, and they had 10 B&B Wolfeyes that were fantastic, had not sold any all year, and they badly wanted to make me a deal to buy one. And the rest is history as you can see. So far it has no burn in full sun, but it was only planted last fall, and we have not yet hit the demanding time of our climate. July and August will tell the story. But so far so good, and I am hopeful because I know I will take better care of it, than the nursery that I saw both WE and SF at last year. Below are a couple pics of the Wolfeyes taken a couple weeks ago. Arktrees This post was edited by arktrees on Sun, Jun 1, 14 at 12:56

Hey Neil There's nothing wrong with asking that question here. Sugar Maples have leaves that look uniquely to them (once you know how to recognize them). They are broad, medium/dark green, with five points and U shaped connections between the pointed lobes. The only other maple that looks close is a Norway Maple, which can be mistaken while the trees are young since the furrows in the bark aren't developed yet. The biggest differences is that while the Norway Maple has five pointed lobes, the connections are more V shaped and much wider than the Sugar Maple. However the easiest way to tell the two a part is that the Norway Maple has white sap. Break a leaf off at the nursery and squeeze the stem, if white sap comes out, it's not a sugar maple. Sugar Maples are known for their car stopping fall color (red/orange combo) and their longevity (200 years +) however they do leaf up later and drop their leaves earlier than a Norway Maple. Norway Maples are one of the first trees to leaf up in Chicago (only to the buckeye) and are one of the last to change and drop in the fall. They also live a long life (around 100 years). They also turn very bright yellow in the fall. Also go to a good Nursery. I've never seen a Sugar Maple at Home Depot. There are a few up in the Northwest burbs. Now is a great time to plant to get the tree rooted in for a great growing season next year. I hope this helps you out Jeff

We really don't know. My husband said it's like it's been poisoned or something. It's been growing well and absolutely fine up until now. I guess we'll see if it comes back next year, and if not, replace it. I kind of wanted a gingko there, just like them, and I read they make good street trees because they're pretty hardy, but he wanted something native, and I do like the bright orange color of the leaves in the fall. I did notice that a lot of the other trees on the street look like they are planted on a bit of a mound, and ours is not. I am pretty sure he planted it correctly, he's kind of a stickler for that with all the plantings around the house, I'm the one that doesn't follow the rules. BTW, all the leaves are completely dead and brown, now.