The Arboretum and Botanical Garden on the University of Maryland – College Park recently received a very generous donation of 100 Autumn Blaze® Maples. Denison Landscaping & Nursery Inc., of Fort Washington donated and installed these trees on the hillside by the Comcast Center. Acer x freemanii (Freeman Maple) is a hybrid of Acer rubrum, Red Maple, and Acer saccharinum, Silver Maple, both of which are native to Maryland. Glen Jeffers of Jeffers Nursery in North Central Ohio identified an unusually vigorous specimen in a plantation of seedlings and grew it on to become Autumn Blaze®, receiving a patent for his selection in July of 1982. This seedling is superior in many ways to others of this hybrid and has the best qualities of both parent species. The abstract of the patent declares that this tree is “characterized by its upward habit of growth and good crotch angles; rapid growth rate; tolerance to drought conditions; pleasing lettuce green summer leaf color and excellent scarlet fall leaf color that persists.” Furthermore, it is nearly fruitless unlike its parent whose fruit is abundant and fertile, and its ability to acclimate to the chilly harshness of Zone 3 to the mildness of Zone 7 is notable. The mature size of the Autumn Blaze® Maple is 50-60 feet tall with a canopy spread of 30-40 feet. This maple expresses heterosis or hybrid vigor which results in a faster growth rate than both of its parent species. Autumn Blaze® maple has received industry recognition as the 1997 Tree of the Year by the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association and as the 2004 Urban Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists. The Arboretum and Botanical Garden is very proud of these recent additions and looks forward to growing with them.
Photo on the left courtesy of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.