I'm still here, there just been a wholeeeee lot of life in the way the last couple weeks. bdrusse, This looks pretty normal to me for a first year spring planted maple tree in the open. I see this allot in the area on Red and Sugar maples. It varies some with cultivar (i.e. Legacy seems to adjust a bit better than some of the others), but that is just a gross generalization. We have two Sugar Maples. One Commemoration and the other Fall Fiesta. The Commemoration was planted toward late spring, and eventually developed substantial leaf burn. Eventually I ended up use gallon jugs (about 1.5 gallons of water) with a pin size hole to water slowly every other day through the worst and driest part of summer. That prevented the burn from getting any worse, and the following year, it was fine with normal size leaves. The Fall Fiesta was planted in the fall. The following growing season leaves were near normal size, was some very moderate growth, and no burn occurred during summer. All of which is to say your tree looks about as expected for the circumstances for the amount of time it had to grow roots before leafing. It simply can not support more until there is an increase in root mass. IMHO the burn you are seeing is due to the hot and windy days we have had for the last month, and not enough root mass as of yet. Our Sugar Maples have been frosted almost every year (I live in a cold spot) to as low as 21-22 degrees, and have not suffered apparent freeze damage, so I don't think that was the problem. Just keep taking good care of it, and it should be fine next season. And in way of FYI, don't expect fall color this year, and you probable won't have allot next either. It takes a few years after planting for them to develop something like color. Three years for our Commemoration, and last year our Fiesta appeared as though it would have, but high very dry winds destroyed the show. Also be aware there is one flush of growth a year in the spring. Mine start in mid-April, and shoot elongation is done by 3-4 weeks, thought the leaves aren't yet fully mature. Lastly, leaf size varies with cultivar. The leaves of our Fiesta are significantly larger than the Commemoration. Do you know if and what cultivar you bought? Almost looks like Commemoration to me, but it's only a guess. Arktrees

> dbarron Z6/7 (Oklahoma) Fri, Aug 15, 14 at 12:08 > It *looks* like one...would prefer a branch shot (Lol). > There's a lot of maples, and many look a lot alike. I'll go take a branch shot later today. Meanwhile below is a link to a whole-tree shot if it would be helpful to see its habit (although it is a bit crowded between another maple on the right and a mulberry on the left. Here is a link that might be useful: This post was edited by tenacre on Fri, Aug 15, 14 at 12:55

If the root system is the problem with standard Acer saccharum in your part of the country then and only then would grafting be advantageous. I know Acer truncatum is the one down there. Call your local extention and ask if I haven't already answered your question, or, find out the closest lineage, or find out how Sugar Maple is normally propagated and go from there. My guess is that it is propagated as a rooted cutting which in that case, you are working with an impossibility. I just don't know Maples well enough. Acer truncatum I do know off hand is compatible with Acer platanoides which doesn't mean junk. Acer saccharum grows fantastically here in our very humid and high temperature summers. I can't remember at the moment if your summers are humid or whether arid. Well, I've said all I can. Dax

Thanks for the info, I thought it was strange to see this on the same plant in two different locations after a cool moist spring so far. As that had me thinking something other than traditional burn vs something with the overwintering o the fall harvest. But has HM4E mentioned I found something that said plants may do this after it warms up after a cool moist period. Still surprised to see this on a native selected cultivar that is to supposed to be resistant to this even if it is a new planting. Couple that with the fact there are much more sensitive plants (new plantings as well) in the area without issue. Wonder what these trees are going to do with a full summer ahead of them. Time will only tell! Thanks for the responses.