32 year old Acer Rubrum

Corrado

Mame
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OK, I looked up swamp maple and it appears to be a term referring to several types of water loving maples mainly the red maple ,silver maple and some other type. When I checked the leaves you can really see the difference. Flowers of red maple are very red and the fruit is tiny.
 

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penumbra

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OK, I looked up swamp maple and it appears to be a term referring to several types of water loving maples mainly the red maple ,silver maple and some other type. When I checked the leaves you can really see the difference. Flowers of red maple are very red and the fruit is tiny.
Yes, those silhouettes of leaves are very accurate although they can vary quite a bit according to location and environment. That is the problem with common names.
 

Corrado

Mame
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YEs and with all these hybrids nurseries are growing for street trees like October Gory or Red Sunset and many others its easy to get confused as to what you have. In the northeast where I live if you go into the woods where wild red maples are OR way up in the Adirondack Mts where its genuine pure youll know it in autumn-they are always the most brilliant red standouts. You can get a splash of orange or yellow from Environmental conditions but mainly different shades of red from Pink to crimson to blood red. Interestingly I have 2 sweetgums one an American and one an Oriental (Formosan) and the formosan is always yellow while the American is a mix of purples,yellow, reds, and orange. I think Rubrum bark is a smoother grey while Silver is shaggy or flaky grey. and of course the fruit of rubrum is tiny and red but the silver is larger and more green and brown.
 
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ABCarve

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Exceptional work. By far the nicest A. rubrum I have ever seen. It has been difficult for me to imagine that a tree that grows like a weed could be so magnificent. I will be tagging some in my yard as soon as I can.
They are weeds around here 😱. I pull hundreds out every year. Easy for root grafting 😂. Thanks for your nice words.
 

ABCarve

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YEs and with all these hybrids nurseries are growing for street trees like October Gory or Red Sunset and many others its easy to get confused as to what you have. In the northeast where I live if you go into the woods where wild red maples are OR way up in the Adirondack Mts where its genuine pure youll know it in autumn-they are always the most brilliant red standouts. You can get a splash of orange or yellow from Environmental conditions but mainly different shades of red from Pink to crimson to blood red. Interestingly I have 2 sweetgums one an American and one an Oriental (Formosan) and the formosan is always yellow while the American is a mix of purples,yellow, reds, and orange. I think Rubrum bark is a smoother grey while Silver is shaggy or flaky grey. and of course the fruit of rubrum is tiny and red but the silver is larger and more green and brown.
I’ll post a close up photo of a leaf once they mature. I’m assuming this species from a forester that surveyed my woods as well as my own deductions from the process of elimination.
 

just.wing.it

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Lovely!
This tree gives me hope for my Rubrum babies....if I didn't say it before, this one is easily the best example of the species as bonsai that I've ever seen.

You mention leaf pruning is your primary method of controlling the growth.....? Can you please elaborate a bit?
You talking about removing tips to stop the shoot from extending too far, followed by winter trimming?
 

ABCarve

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Lovely!
This tree gives me hope for my Rubrum babies....if I didn't say it before, this one is easily the best example of the species as bonsai that I've ever seen.

You mention leaf pruning is your primary method of controlling the growth.....? Can you please elaborate a bit?
You talking about removing tips to stop the shoot from extending too far, followed by winter trimming?
Go to post #4. At this stage of development it’s most of the job. It has been bud pinched last year and currently. I do make small adjustments to the general shape. Getting to the stage prior to 2014 it’s just like anything else, grow it out, cut it back.
 

theta

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Really amazing tree. And a wonderful story to go with it!
 

VAFisher

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I'm trying this same pruning technique with mine this year thanks to seeing the great results you get. I used to totally defoliate around this time of year. I had ok results but this seems better so far.
 

ABCarve

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I'm trying this same pruning technique with mine this year thanks to seeing the great results you get. I used to totally defoliate around this time of year. I had ok results but this seems better so far.
It seems like it may be a little easier on the tree but I really don’t know if there’s a difference. I had a really bad spring for fungus so it was almost totally defoliated. I’ll try to get a pic up soon.
 

Tree by River

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This gives you an example of how big the first flush of leaves are. Also a good view of a leaf for your taxonomy pleasure. The spotting on the leaves is mancozeb.
View attachment 304347View attachment 304348
Yep that’s a rubrum acer. I just pulled up two drummonds which are a var. of acer rubrum D9CA4C74-EE80-44DF-8109-7F665C11B7B9.jpeg
 
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