Outstanding Features:
Good shade tree form, outstanding fall color.

Description:
Height: 40-60'
Width: 20-40'
Hardiness Zone: 3b-4a

Freeman Maple is a hybrid between Silver Maple and Red Maple. The cultivars available combine the better aesthetic qualities of Red Maple with the greater tolerance to adverse climatic and soil conditions of Silver Maple. Freeman Maple also grows faster than Red Maple. It has gray bark, yellow to red flowers in early spring, and many of the cultivars have good red fall color. We will see more cultivars of this interspecific hybrid in the future.

Requirements and Culture:
Requires full sun. Prefers rich, well drained soils but it is fairly tolerant to heavy soils.

Limitations:
Not tolerant of high soil pH, though not as sensitive as Red Maple. As with both Silver and Red Maples, hardiness of Freeman Maple will vary with seed source.

Selected Cultivars:

`Armstrong' - has a narrow columnar habit. Becomes wider with age. Frequently listed as A. rubrum.

Autumn Blaze^TM - has a broad oval crown. Orange-red fall color.

Celebration^TM - has an upright oval form. Red to yellow fall color.

`Indian Summer' - develops a good bright rosy red fall color fairly early in the season. Grows vigorously and develops an oval to rounded crown. Introduced in Canada as `Morgan' but sold in the U. S. as `Indian Summer'.

`Lee's Red' - has bright red fall color. Foliage more similar to that of Silver Maple but not quite as deeply cut.

Scarlet Sentinel^TM - very fast growing, has a broad columnar form.

Photo Credit: 1 & 2 K. Warren. Both photos are `Autumn Blaze'.

Minnesota Power | University of Minnesota | Northern States Power Company

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