D
Now that's a pretty maple bloomNorway maple flower.
2C (35.5F)
For such a small plant, I think the flowers will take too much energy, I'd remove them.
anyway, acer palmatum are very rarely true to the cultivar it was taken from, so don't bother. If you have other Acer species around, there's more chance you can get an "odd" specimen from a stronger tree.
i can rub flowers of 2 different trees together to make “crossbreeds” so to speak?
Yes, that's basically the trick.
That's the way many varieties were created.
An example in French with Irises, but it's the same for most flowering plants :
https://www.les-iris-du-grand-barbu.com/culture/hybridation/
But I didn't do it, didn't have enough time. Next year maybe, when I'm a pensioner
Acer circinatum