question about red maples?

[red maples]

Not sure where to put this one so I put here.

Are there different varieties of red maples? I have some trees that the leaves come in red and some that come in green, some that come in a scarlet red some orange, but they all turn green and have the exact same shape!!!

I also have some sugars that have a reddish hue to them and then all turn green.

Is it something in the soil that is effecting their color?

they have always done this its nothing new but I was just curious.

[ADKMAPLE]

when my sugar maples first bud, they are reddish. Maybe you should elaborate as to when this is happening>?

[Russell Lampron]

The leave color change as they open and develop sounds normal to me. I have some that start out red and turn green on both reds and sugars.

I have never heard of any different varieties of red maples but have noticed that some of them will retain the smooth bark much longer than others. I have also noticed that some older ones have shaggier bark than others. Different varieties of the same type of tree? Maybe!

[wally]

Not sure where to put this one so I put here.

Are there different varieties of red maples? I have some trees that the leaves come in red and some that come in green, some that come in a scarlet red some orange, but they all turn green and have the exact same shape!!!

I also have some sugars that have a reddish hue to them and then all turn green.

Is it something in the soil that is effecting their color?

they have always done this its nothing new but I was just curious.

in nh, there is one variety of red maple, acer rubrum.

not all trees of the same type bud/leaf/flower at the same time, nor do they all have identical coloration. some differences are genetic. some are localized weather. some are climate/elevation-related. some are physical/nutrient-related.

[Revi]

I'm sure that red maples have variation. I planted some small ones in the wetter areas of our woodlot, and noticed that they are leafing out slower than the ones that were there before.

[adk1]

tell you what, I ahve a few sugars that just popped a few days ago..seems like they were never gonna pop!

[Revi]

I've noticed that the type of sugar maple they plant as street trees are really slow to leaf out. My brother has a huge one in New Jersey and it wasn't leafed out a couple of weeks ago. Everything else was already leafed out and our trees in Central Maine already were popping out tiny leaves.

At my other brother's in Cobleskill they weren't even started budding yet.

I think that cultivar is really slow to leaf out, but they seem to be tough enough to make it as a street tree.

A lot of sugar maple street trees have had a hard time lately.

We planted some sugars and reds at my school last year and the sugars did better than the reds.

I think reds have really sensitive roots, or maybe it was too wet even for them last summer.

Here is a list of cultivars of red maples that are commonly planted:

http://www.maple-trees.com/pages/red-maple.php

Scroll down for the list.

[Dennis H.]

Thats funny that you mentioned that the reds did not do very good in wet areas.
I have heard that reds do well in wetter areas, around here some people cal them swamp maples.

As for the colors and shapes of red maples, Look at the leaf stems they will be red on red maples and also the ends of the branches where the buds are they tend to be red also. Atleast that is how my red's look.
Also The leaf shapes will very also. Some of my reds have 5 points some have only 3. The ones that have 5 points the 2 next to the stem may be really small or can be larger.
As for color of the leafs when they 1st come out mine tend to be mostly a red dark lavendar but change to green rather quickly.

hope this helps.

[wally]

I'm sure that red maples have variation. I planted some small ones in the wetter areas of our woodlot, and noticed that they are leafing out slower than the ones that were there before.
phenotype variation isn't the same as variation in budding, leaf shape, etc.

Betula papyrifera is paper birch. Betula papyrifer var. cordifolia is heart-leaved paper birch, a variety of paper birch. the red maple, Acer rubrum, found in NH is a single variety.

[red maples]

thanks guys. I figured they were all the same but the genetics sounds interesting I never thought of that. My swamp maples do very well. never have a problem. they leaf a little later and leaves fall off a little earlier. I think due to the water temp in the swamp. it get colder faster so the leaves fall faster.

The reds in the woods the leaves come in a little earlier and fall off a little earlier I believe due to soil temp. I guess it holds the temp a little better.