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Help to identify these upright trees?

last year

last modified: last year

Hi folks - we are in eastern MA. We have a tall, upright tree that is failing (I think roots were disturbed 2 years ago when nearby shrubs were removed.)

I would love help to identify the failing tree (Tree 1 pics below). As well as another tree (Tree 2 pic) that I've seen that I would like to use as a replacement.

We have a nearby pool and for years, Tree 1 did not drop leaves at all until early fall, so looking for something that would at least hold on to leaves for most of the summer. I think Tree 2 looks like a form of maple? We'd like upright as this is less intrusive to nearby pool area.

Thank you!

TREE 1 pics (what we have. This one is healthy, but we have another one that's dying):

TREE 2 pics (Want I'd like):

Featured Answer

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

last year

Both trees are fastigiate cultivars of their species. You’ll need to get the right replacement if you want that shape, not just any Freeman.

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Comments (11)

laceyvail 6A, WV
last year
And the mulch is piled much too high against the trunks. Bad for the trees. Pull it back and expose the root flare.
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krnuttle
last year
The one in the first and third pictures are way to close to the building, and should be taken out. It is much easier to take them down now, rather than wait until they are much bigger. DIY it is easier, Commercially it is cheaper
bengz6westmd
last year
Last looks like sugar maple, tho it doesn't make much difference.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
the first looks like a poplar to me.. it needs to go.. based on location ...

cut it to the ground.. and apply a stump killer .. nothing should be planted that close to everything.. so why bother digging it out ...

i dont know the cultivar on the maple.. but the mulch volcano is harming the tree.. if its yours ...

if you want help on new plants or trees... you have to tell us where you are.. big city name ...

and perhaps show us the backyard.. rather than the 8 square inches the poplar is in ...

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
i hate when there are no replies.. and then i post one.. and magically 5 show up.. repeating everything i said.. sorta a waste of my time ... ken
grasswhisperer
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thanks all for the interesting replies. As I noted in the original post - the maples trees are what I would like to get (aka I don't have them, they are not mine, and thus I don't have anything to do with the mulch volcanos :)

and I agree - that particular Black Poplar (thank you, Jordan!) is stupidly close to the shed - not sure what the prior owners were thinking. I am planning to have it removed and thanks for the advice, Ken regarding removal and no need to remove stump.

Btw - I also mentioned we're in eastern MA! In the suburbs of Boston.

Finally - yes I know TREE 2 is a maple, but was trying to see if anyone knew what particular fastigiate type as I like that particular shape (not all fastigiates seem to have the same shape, although all are upright).

What seems to be coming up is "Armstrong" - is this a fastigiate version of a Freeman? I think that's what I will shoot for.

Thanks all for your help. And no mulch volcanoes in our yard!
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
'Armstrong' is a fastigiate cultivar of red maple, Acer rubrum. As is 'Bowhall' and Armstrong Gold. A couple of Norway maples are columnar but no Freemans. There are multiple columnar reds.
indianagardengirl
last year
Also look at Apollo sugar maple
Embothrium
last year
last modified: last year
The maples asked about are Freeman maples. Various named selections of this cross are the common tall narrow maples of commercial developments such as business parks and malls in my region. As with both parental species these produce large specimens in time. Just not wide-spreading ones. Otherwise there is a history of certain ones being marketed as red maples but actually being hybrids. With the advantage of the silver maple involvement being improved drought tolerance - unirrigated parking lots in my area present the sorry spectacle of stunted and wilted red maples every summer in a climate where the July precipitation total is typically less than 1 in.
Embothrium
last year
If this (below) is taken as representative of current overall production in Oregon (not every company operating there participates in the Guide) then AUTUMN BLAZE ('Jeffersred') followed by 'Armstrong' greatly surpass the other Freeman maples in quantities being grown. Noting again that a percentage of so-called Acer rubrum cultivars are actually Freeman maples, will not therefore appear in this search result. Another relevant detail is that according to A. L. Jacobson, North American Landscape Trees (1996, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley) 'Armstrong' had come by that time to have been replaced to a large extent by 'Armstrong II'. So that the following "Armstrong" listings may actually consist mostly if not entirely of 'Armstrong II'.

Results for acer freemanii | Wholesale Nursery Supplies & Plant growers in Oregon | Nursery Guide

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