I am very surprised, vane, that none of the 125 maples germinated true to type, which characteristics would place it under the name 'specie'. A cultiva is either a sport or a hybrid created by nature or man and quite often is sterile (not producing seeds) or producing seeds which never germinate. If they do make seeds then the seedlings will show much variation, though some may become true to type. I have a specie Palmatum Athropurpurum whose seedlings are true to type nearly 100%. AS far as I know Bloodgroup is not a specie, so it must be a sport or hybrid. That explains why the it is sold as a stem-grafted plant and not on its own roots.I mentioned earlier there are 600 varieties of J. Maples, majority of which are cultivars. When we say 'red' J. Maple, often the color is not a true red but a purplish red or dark scarlet especially if it is the specie Atropurpurum. One example of a truely red leaf J. Maple is the cutivar called chishio, its leaves remaining red in summer and its red tone deepens in autumn. The family name of all maples in the world is Aceraceae, then its genus, Acer or Diteronia; under Acer then you have the Section and Series, like the palmatum. Under the series we come to the specie, under which we then have the sub-specie. Most of the Japanese maples we come across belong to the largest group Series Pamata. In this Series the 2 largest and common species are A. japonica and A. palmatum. Also we are familiar with the A. palmatum dissectum where the leaf is fernlike and either appearing in green or red (A. palmatum dissectum atropurpurum). This red specie has given rise to most red dissectum in the nursery like Crimson Queen, Ever Red,Inaba Shidare and a host of lesser known red dissectum. The third well known species of palmata is the 'Full Moon' Maple and its fall color is bright red or translucent scarlet red. It has large green to bluish green leaves in summer, 7 and 9 lobes per leaf and belongs to A.japonicum under the specie aconitifolium. New seedlings give much interest and may become new hybrids but have no registered names yet. One example is red leafed palmatum. It basic leaf color is a strong maroon or black red and has a varigation of crimson, which sometimes appear as specks or in large patches covering even a entire half lobe. I have only seen pictures of it and not yet in the nursery. Outside of Japan we have other Genus maples native to the country, like in China where the leaf form is nowhere near the normal maple shape and the fall coloration is less marked. In the NW continent we have our own vine maple, which comes into the Series Palmata Vine Maple and its specie group is A. circinatum. England can only claim one native maple i.e. the Hedge Maple, which grows into a bushy tree maybe 12 feet high or if trimmed in a row makes a good dense hedge. 'Amur Maple' which hails from Europe has green leaves looking more like a beech than a maple, but its autumn red color is most outstanding. The Acers have become so numerous and complex that taxonomists in the world are splitting hairs in their claim of classification. The interrelationship of acers within the series become important when you move into propagation by grafting. Varieties within the same specie are most compatible when it comes to cambium union and the crown becomes impossible to differentiate as the plant matures. However we have known of other cases of successful grafts of acers outside its own section, but this is rare. The best way to decide if a particular plant is a maple is to look at the fruit, which must be twin blade with a seed in each blade, called 'samara'. When it is fully ripened, the blade falls n spins like a helicopter blade, much to the delight of children in my grandson's pre-school class during his show n tell period. I love J. maples and often visit my friend's farm of 2 acres, planted mostly with J. maples. When planted in masses its autumn cloration is spectacular and out of this world. I hope this note offers some insight into the wonders and complexity of the term Japanese maples.

Not sure what area of ME you're in, so don't know your zone, which would affect your list of possibilities. Red oak is hardy to zone 3, and pin oak is good to 4, both have an average growth rate of close to 2'/yr once established in good conditions, and both have the benefit of beautiful fall colours. We purchased a few young pin oaks this spring, and I am really liking their form and colour, more so than the red oak. Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) is quite tolerant of soil conditions, with beautiful fall colours as well, and some cultivars are faster growing than others. If you wish to look outside the box, bald cypress (taxodium distichum) may work if you are in zone 5, likes moist to wet soils, is very fast growing, and has beautiful, soft, ferny foliage. I don't expect their are many bald cypress in ME! Katsura (cercidiphyllum japonicum) is hardy to zone 4, adaptable, and relatively fast growing though may take some time to become established. It also colours beautifully in fall, though its heart shaped blue green leaves are pretty enough throughout the year, and has an added bonus that when the leaves colour in fall and are warmed a little by the sun, they emit a wonderfully sweet fragrance that has been likened to caramelized brown sugar or cotton candy. Even my young seedling has done this. Have fun in your search, and don't be afraid to get creative!

Hello TJ, The following article contains instructions to remove invasive Norway Maple from a woodland, using a 'stepped' approach: "What to do if you suspect a Natural Area is being invaded by Exotic Trees: It is not easy to contemplate removal of trees as part of sensitive environmental management, however the fact is that invasive exotics are causing significant environmental disruption worldwide, resulting in the loss of biodiversity and ecological functioning to natural ecosystems. First, a survey of the site should be conducted identifying remaining native species of trees and shrubs, and invading exotics such as Norway Maple, European Buckhorn, Tatarian and Amur Honeysuckle. Where there are only a few exotics saplings mixed with native species, these invaders could likely be removed without causing any disruption. The problem arises when the forest canopy is mostly exotic, since removing all of them at once could cause serious problems, including opening the site to further invasions of exotics and soil erosion. Removals around any existing native trees would be a start, as well as removing all exotic seedlings, and saplings where larger trees form the canopy. Where large exotic trees exist, removing the lower limbs to allow light to the forest floor is an initial step to consider where complete removal would open up the forest canopy too severely. If native tree seedlings are not naturally establishing, then planting is called for. As the native forest grows, further thinning of the exotics can take place, until they and the seed source is eventually eliminated. Through this process, a return to a native forest association should occur without opening the forest canopy. Since the ground flora may recover under the lighter shade than Norway Maple provides, it is important that it not be further impacted by invading plants of open conditions that would occur if the canopy were opened too quickly." One word of caution: Norway Maples put out "phytotoxins" - which are chemicals that are toxic to most native plants. It is not just the shade, but the phytotoxins which prevent the establishment of native understory, shrub and groundcover layers below Norway Maples - even with thinned branches overhead. My neighbours and I have wasted thousands of dollars trying to plant under Norways in our ravine. The majority die - even when we've created elaborate watering systems to compensate for the Norways (I know - defeats the whole point of planting natives in the first place!). We've had some success by replacing large areas of soil when we plant - but we've recently learned the phytotoxins are in the leaves as well - so those plants just take longer to die. Not to discourage you - it only seems to relentlessly kill plants in some locations - not all. But if anyone has any information on NM phytotoxins - and what to do about it so that we have better success establishing a native layer (ANY native layer - after a few years of NM we have only three layers: 100+ year old oaks, complete NM understory,rapidly eroding bare sandy soil with a few still hanging-on hardcore natives (toad lilly, trillium)) - I'd really appreciate hearing about it! Here is a link that might be useful: Norway Maple: Reassessing the threat to natural areas

@miketann: That's why I love this forum, I can learn SO much. I had no idea about the poor rooting rate of maples. Apologies for drifting off topic, (but we kind of are talking about decidious saplings as bonsai stock). Ok, so two summers ago that lone Red Maple out at my parents' got sun burnt. That's how I found out they prefer more shade than most other trees. Last summer it showed signs of life and sprouted many branches at ground level. We'd eventually keep one as a leader, but anyway, would I have a better shot at rooting those, or dividing them somehow so there's already some bits of root at the ends? I would figure now is the time as the buds are just about to open up. ...or would this all be futile, possibly risking the health of the maple even further in the process? I guess Matt (OP) just might have the best idea. I mean, if it were a hard-to-find-in-the-wild sort of tree, or if garden centers charged obscene prices for small trees that need way too much time to work, then yeah, grow from seed in the meantime.