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mk87_gw

What kind of maple is this...?

mk87
15 years ago

I am not good with distinguishing maples, even based on fall color. I am pretty sure I can recognize a Trident, an Autumn Blaze (only because we have one) and October Glory (they seem to turn earlier than others). But, there are two I am confused by. (I should've posted pix, but will try to do so over the weekend, to support my question.)

The first is in our yard. We inherited it and I THINK it is either Sugar maple or a Florida maple. It, unfortunately, has been the victim of woodpeckers (which means beetles I'm sure) and big construction equipment. But, I am trying to save it. The leaves do a weird thing. They turn a little RED and THEN more of the tree turns yellow. So that the leaves are mostly yellowish with some red on the tips of most of the leaves.

Then there is one that I have seen all over middle GA and up in Atlanta. When it turns, it is almost neon. Right now, in Atlanta is the best time to see it. Parts of the tree (that are in the shade) are usually still green, but the parts that are turning are BRIGHT yellow advancing to BRIGHT orange.

Again, I will post pix this weekend, but does anyone have a clue? (And, btw, go and visit esh's pix on his post...GORGEOUS!)

Comments (7)

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    The shape of the leaf will help you somewhat in distinguishing some of these. Red maples have a trident shaped leaf:

    A true red maple (not a hybrid) has variable leaf color in the wild (perhaps due to natural hybridization): I have some in my yard that are pure yellow, others have the orange/red colors.

    A sugar maple has the leaf shape associated with the Canadian flag emblem (5 lobes versus 3 on the red):

    The sugar maple has very orange color with some yellow. A southern sugar maple (I have found) is all yellow with no orange.

    The Freeman hybrids very clearly show the Silver maple parentage in the leaf (more of a scalloped, lacy look to my eye):

    {{gwi:842563}}

    Silver maple:

    Another maple is the Norway maple (not native:

  • mk87
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    esh -- Good information! Y'know, you bring up a good point. I did not know that "red" maples were naturally varied in color. I will check out the leaf shape on the one in our yard and see if I can figure it out, and will probably post some pix over the weekend too.

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    Just to show you some of the variability, here are some pictures from my yard. The 3 leaves on the top are from the same tree (same branch); notice the difference in both color and shape? Below that is a leaf from a different red maple tree in another part of the yard. Next to it is a leaf from my southern sugar maple.

    Clearly the cultivars of red maple are a big improvement over the average tree.

  • nwgatreasures
    15 years ago

    Wow!
    That is a fabulous lesson on maples.

    The one in our backyard has these pinkish/red fuzzy blooms on it in the spring before the leaves burst out.
    Then....it turns red for a few days and then a bright yellow and then brown when they hit the ground.

    I'm gonna go see if I can find some pictures in my landscape history folder to show.

    We were just told it was a sugar maple...but me thinks that there's more to it than that.

    Dora

  • nwgatreasures
    15 years ago

    ok, here's what it looked like in mid Sept.

    When we first purchased the home in Sept 2005, the limbs touched the ground all the way around and took up the entire back yard. We had it all trimmed from the underneath and it totally opened up the back yard. The next year, we added the enclosed mulch area for the kids to play and to separate the grass from the area where the grass would never grow.

    I'm going to try and find some pics of it in the fall.

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    Dora, what is the shape of the leaf? The shape of it looks like a red maple, but seeing the leaf would help.

  • nwgatreasures
    15 years ago

    I had every intention of going out, picking up a leaf and providing a picture.......except that its been raining non stop here since 11 this morning. I don't want the pic that bad, LOL.

    Perhaps tomorrow? If I remember correctly, its like the very first pictured leaf in this thread with the 3 points. The only red in these leaves is the day before they fall off. Its very short lived. Most of time they are yellow/gold.

    Dora
    (this is so much fun and so educational)

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