to 50 feet tall.
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| Autumn Blaze®
maple grows to 50 feet tall. |
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| Autumn Blaze®
maple has brilliant fall color. |
If you want a large, fast-growing tree with spectacular fall color, Autumn Blaze® maple is an excellent choice. This dependable selection of Acer x freemanii ('Jeffsred', P.P. No 4864) is a hybrid of red (A. rubrum) and silver (A. saccharinum) maple that combines the best features of both: it has the vigor and adaptability of the silver maple along with the beauty and strength of the red maple. It has received excellent ratings from all parts of the U.S. and is also very popular in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Autumn Blaze® is very adaptable to a wide range of climate and soil conditions. It tolerates clay soil, and will withstand wet soil conditions and drought. This tree will grow in a wide range of climates from Wisconsin to central Florida, and is hardy in USDA zones 3-8. Consider it for a site that isn’t right for red or sugar maple, or as a more colorful alternative in place of silver or Norway maples.
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| Leaves turn a brilliant red- orange in fall. |
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| Medium green leaves have red stems with color that persists through the winter. |
Like its silver maple parent, Autumn Blaze® grows quickly. The growth rate of this cultivar is about four times faster than that of a red maple. Under optimal conditions it can grow 3 feet or more per year. Eventually it will grow to 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide. At maturity it will have an oval to rounded crown with ascending branches and a well-defined central leader. This tree is not as susceptible to storm damage as silver maple because it has superior crotch angles and a well-balanced branching habit (inherited from its red maple parent) but still has the weaker wood characteristic of the silver maple. It grows in a very uniform shape, so requires little pruning.
Summer foliage is medium green. In the fall Autumn Blaze® consistently develops brilliant, long-lasting orange-red color. This vivid color, as well as its rapid growth rate, is the main reason to plant this tree. It also has some winter interest , with the new growth retaining a red color after leaf drop that persists until the following season.
With its distinct upright oval form, Autumn Blaze® is excellent as a specimen planting, but can also be used in groups. Because of it size it is most appropriate for the larger yard, commercial landscapes and parks. Its thin bark is easily damaged, so it's best not to use this tree in high pedestrian traffic areas.
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| The bark of Autumn Blaze® maple is rather thin and damages easily. |
Autumn Blaze® has fewer problems with leafhoppers and verticillium wilt that adversely affect some slower growing maples. Since it's a seedless cultivar, you won't have to worry about weeding out thousands of seedlings.
There are several other selections of A. freemanii, including:
But according to Professor Emeritus Edward R. Hasselkus, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Horticulture, Autumn Blaze® develops the best, most intense red to red-orange autumn coloration of the group.
– Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin
