Hi Dax. And Thanks for the info. But, Yes. There were 3 Acer griseum in the row at the nursery I worked at this summer, (and I just had to take one home with me, of course.)It had the seed forming already when I bought it and planted it in my yard. Good to know, though, that I will need another to produce viable seed. I hadn't known that previously. Thanks! Dawn

I agree that the collapse of the rootball does not necessarily spell doom for your tree -- in fact, it is probably a good thing. There has been a lot of study done regarding the establishment of B&B nursery stock (containered stock, also) that indicates removing any existing soil from the rootball before planting encourages faster establishment and allows proper identification of the root flare and a close examination of root system and correction of any problems. Plus it eliminates common issues like soil interface problems and the drying out of the rootball soil after planting. And I am of the camp that considers Superthrive (or Superjive, as some call it :-)) just a waste of money. The growth stimulators - such as they are - that it contains are diluted beyond usefulness or any benefit. A starter fertilizer may be appropriate but even that is up for some discussion as the B1 most contain is available to the plant naturally and seldom needs to be supplemented. But a small amount is usually not an issue and the phosphorus may help to encourage root regeneration. FWIW, the notion that maintaining rootball integrity is sacrosanct is very much old school. Removing any and all wrappings and washing or bare rooting the plant of any existing soil before planting is now considered a beneficial practice. What is most important for your new tree beyond any rootball considerations or fertilizing is correct planting practices and attention to watering through its first season in the ground.

Dave, the tree was bare root when I purchased it, so it was less expensive than one might think. Part of the problem may have been my fault. When I first potted the tree, I noticed that the potting soil took about 30 minutes to drain, but since the first two trunks' leaves did emerge and seemed healthy, I did not realize that I should change out the potting soil. A month later when the third trunk did not produce leaves also, I decided to repot the entire tree in better draining potting soil. During the repotting, I was surprised to see that the trunks roots were not connected, and the soil smelled a little sour. So I got a new pot, rinsed the roots and soaked them in a solution to rid them of any fungus. Then repotted them in better draining potting soil. At that time I noticed exactly what you mentioned. There was only one long root growing from the trunk that now only has a few buds. That root had one small, about 4 inch long complex of feeder roots growing out near the top of the thicker single root. Once the entire tree was repotted I gave the tree the recommended amount of root stimulater, and the leafed out trunks stayed green and healthy looking even after such a disruptive procedure. All the described repotting procedure occurred about 4 weeks ago. The non-leaf trunk is still alive and has produced more buds since then, but none of them have leafed out yet. I would really like to keep the tree because, a month ago the nursery had only one multi-trunk left that was about 2 feet shorter than mine. If they have not sold that tree yet, I would not want to trade trees with them and have them end up with the taller tree that they manage to get the third trunk leaves to emerge. I also am a little concerned about transporting either of the mentioned trees now that the Summmer heat is here. So I would really love it if someone had advice on how I can get the trunk to grow more roots that could support the leaves it produces from the buds. Currently I have the tree on the east side of my house, would it be better if I moved it under a tree where it gets light shade for the entire day? Would that harm the trunks that are leafed out already? I am wondering if, now that it is summer, if the hot morning sun will be too hard on the buds of the trunk, which currently has no leaves.

If a new one from Schmidt there won't be much, if any general experience with it yet. Their claims for it will probably still be based entirely on Willamette Valley conditions. Sugar maple tree named `JFS-KW8` BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During the fall of 2000, I searched for improved varieties of sugar maple, Acer saccharum. I examined several thousand seedling trees of Acer saccharum growing in rows at a nursery in Boring, Oreg. I found a number of seedling trees that differed from typical seedlings. One tree, which was three years old at the time, particularly caught my attention. My attention was drawn to this tree because it was taller and stronger growing than any other seedling in the field and also displayed unusually bright red fall color. I tagged it and transplanted it during the winter into a testing block for further evaluation. I evaluated this tree every year thereafter and determined that it was superior to typical seedlings in several features. In order to test this tree under nursery growing conditions, my new tree was test propagated by T-budding onto Acer saccharum rootstock in small plots of 10 trees in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. This asexual propagation in Boring, Oreg. by budding on Acer saccharum rootstock has shown that the characteristics of my new tree are firmly fixed in successive generations. I evaluated each plot of these test trees for three years in the nursery and then discarded all but 15 which I re-planted in 2008 and 2009. Testing, evaluation, and comparison with seedlings of the species as well as with existing commercial varieties of Acer saccharum has convinced me that my new tree has superior growth and appearance characteristics for landscape use.... Compared to `Bailsta`, my new tree is taller, with one year trees of `JFS-KW8` averaging 231 cm vs. 218 cm for `Bailsta`. In addition, the sheen of the upper leaf surface of `JFS-KW8`is slightly satiny while that of `Bailsta` is slightly glossy to glossy. Fall leaf color of `Bailsta` typically has a range of colors of yellow, orange and red. Compared to `Green Mountain`, the slightly satiny upper leaf surface of `JFS-KW8` is easily distinguished from the dull leathery leaf surface of `Green Mountain`. In addition, 2 year old `Green Mountain` trees have wide branch crotch angles (50.degree.-80.degree.) while `JFS-KW8` has moderate branch crotch angles that are typically 40.degree.-50.degree.. Branch orientation of 2 year trees of `Green Mountain` is wider (45.degree.-60.degree. measured 30 cm from trunk) while that of `JFS-KW8` in narrower and more upsweeping (typically 30.degree.-40.degree. measured 30 cm from trunk). Comparison to the species: My new variety is straighter, taller, more upright, and moderately narrower in form than the species. The 13 year old original tree is best described as narrowly oval to oval in shape, while typical trees of the species are broadly oval to round at the same age. Measurement of propagated one and two year old trees of my new variety and seedlings of the species confirm this form difference. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=PP22034.PN.&OS=PN/PP22034&RS=PN/PP22034