Well... of course, as soon as I post this I find a list from the Arbor Day order (or at least, I think it was that year's order). No idea which is which (which of the ones that came in this bundle actually survived), but could the third photo be a young Sargeant Crabapple? That's on the list, as is Eastern Redbud, Washington Hawthorn, dogwood (I know it's not that), Goldenraintree and crapemyrtle (I remember wondering why on earth they were shipping crapemyrtles to New England!!) In theory (meaning assuming they sent what they said they were sending), it should be one of those -- and the crabapple seems like the only one it could be? I'd be floored if they were shipping free Bradford pears (which is what someone on Name that Plant thought it was as well) -- aren't they considered more or less invasive plants in a lot of areas these days? So I'm hoping for Sargeant crabapple since I wouldn't mind having one of those for the birds (means the little guy can stay right where he is now, in the bird/butterfly garden).

Here’s the Japanese Maple I bought from the Tree Center just 9 months after I splurged for the larger size because there are slow-growing trees. I was apparently confused by the 1-year warranty and didnt realize it wasn’t like most nurseries that back their products as part of the purchase. My dumb fault for not reading thoroughly or looking into reviews. This tree dropped all of its leaves within 6 months. I had hoped maybe it was just because it was winter (I am in Zone 8a), but it was fall when the leaves fell off when this tree is supposed to look its best. had it in a nice shady spot that got some filtered sun just how my flourishing JM’s love it here. I planted the coral bark at the same time from a similar size container, although it was taller as it is a taller growing variety. the Tree Center’s customer service dept offered me a 20% discount on another tree, and they were very rude in their response. Buy local where you know you’ll get a 1-year warranty withour a hassle.

I had to prune mine up this spring to get rid of branch stubs left by the rabbits. The snow was so deep, the rabbits were able to nip branch's halfway up the tree. And these trees tend to explode with branches in spring, going in every direction, up, down crisscrossing and along the existing branches. Mine might have bled a little or even for a while but I really didn't pay much attention. And it would've bled from the rabbit nips even if I didn't prune. You aren't going to hurt an amur maple (acer ginnala) by bleeding anyways. Most people just let them go 'Au natural' and they produce quite a large, shrub like appearance. It's the only tree in my yard that got zero supplemental water during the drought period for the last two years. On sandy ground with sand subsoil. There are several others in the neighborhood too that are unattended and still grow remarkably well. A good portion of the leaves are gone on mine, but it just looks better, to me anyways. eta: I don't know if I'll do any future pruning. The way these trees send out new branches, from everywhere along the trunk and old branches, it may be futile. When I think about it though, I was just trying to establish a single trunk on mine, so all it takes is to snap on a 'rabbit tube' to protect it over winter. ;-)

The plant is leaning because it doesn't get enough light. Plants allocate their energy in a strict order. Energy is first allocated to respiratory function, i.e. to maintenance of living tissues, then, to production of fine roots, followed by flower and seed/fruit production, then primary growth (extension of both roots and shoots), then secondary growth (thickening), and finally, the synthesis of defensive chemicals. You can see that the thickening that makes the stems strong is of low priority and only occurs when the plant is able to create more food/energy than it can use. When plants have excess energy the need a place to store it, and just like humans who take in more calories than they burn, plants roots/ branches/ stems get fatter as they create new cells to store the energy. Now is the best time of the year to do heavy work on the plant. If it was mine, I'd cut the laid-over stems back to somewhere inside of an imaginary line straight up from the rim of the pot. Your plant will then back-bud behind (closer to the roots) the pruning cut and you will have fixed the laying over of the offending stems. There is very close to a 100% chance all will go well if you choose this route. The only thing you will need to be careful of is over-watering. With the main foliage mass separated from the roots, the plant will use water from the soil much more slowly. If you like, you can treat the tops as cuttings and root them to make new plants. If you need some guidance in making that happen, just ask, as you have options that will affect what type of plant you'll end up with (from the cuttings), and the cuttings will require some preparation to maximize chances of success. Al