Description

Leaves: Fall color red to yellow, often excellent; silvery below; opposite; simple; toothed; 3 to 5 lobes per leaf, sinuses deep; deciduous.

Twigs/buds: Twigs brown-red. Buds red in winter.

Flowers/fruit: Flower inflorescences in ball-like clusters early in spring. Fruit in samaras, joined, 2 joined on a stalk, semi-divergent wings, pendulous, in clusters; yellow-brown at maturity from April to May.

Bark: Gray; smooth and thin when young; slightly furrowed when older.

Wood: In the soft maple group, as are both A. saccharinum and A. rubrum; the soft maple group has the following characteristics: heartwood lighter colored than sapwood; similar in appearance to hard maples, including A. saccharum and A. nigrum, in that the texture is uniform and fine, but the wood is lighter, softer, and weaker than hard maples; used to make railroad ties, pallets, boxes, veneer, and wooden ware.

General: This is a name given to several hybrids of red maple (Acer rubrum) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum). A large tree, from 40' to 60' tall, the habit can be oval, pyramidal, or columnar, depending on cultivar. Has enough silver maple characteristics that I worry about its long-term success in Utah landscapes. I especially worry about its ability to deal with heat and drought, and with high soil pH without becoming chlorotic. Also likely to be somewhat weak-wooded. Prefers full sun.

Landscape Use: Has very nice orange to red fall color. Urban tolerant. Zones 3-8.

Cultivars: 'Armstrong', 'Autumn Blaze', 'Autumn Fantasy', 'Celebration', 'Firefall', 'Marmo', 'Morgan', 'Scarlet Sentinel', 'Sienna Glen'.
 

Characteristics