How to Identify and Care for an Ablaze Red Maple

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The Ablaze Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) gives a colorful show in the spring with its new foliage, and an even more colorful show in the fall with its bright orange and fiery red colors. The cultivar is Ablaze and the plant family is Aceraceae. It thrives in zones 3 to 9, and the AHS Heat Zone has not been identified for this plant. It can withstand partly shady to full sun conditions.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Identify the Ablaze Red Maple by the smooth, light gray bark. The tree puts out red flowers before foliage. The branches are a reddish color. It blooms in early to mid spring. The foliage is dark green in color. This particular maple can reach up to 70 feet tall and get as wide as 30 feet, making it a great shade tree.

Step2

Plant this tree by digging a hole that is three or four times the diameter of the container it came in. If it did not come in a container, make the hole three or four times the diameter of the root ball. Scarify the sides of the hole with a shovel or pitchfork. If the tree came wrapped in burlap, and the burlap is not synthetic, leave the burlap on the root ball, but remove any nails or wires holding it on, and fold it down, so the entire piece of burlap gets covered with dirt.

Step3

Fill the hole with soil. Use at least half of the original soil if you need to amend the soil. If you have a very loose soil (like a sandy type soil), unless it is missing a nutrient needed by the tree, you do not need to amend the soil. If the soil is a heavy clay-type soil, amend it with 50 percent potting soil.

Step4

Create a water ring around the outer edge of the hole. This will help direct water to the outside roots, which encourages growth. It also helps conserve water. Once the Ablaze Red Maple is established, you can flatten out the water ring. Mulch with 3 inches of compost, pinestraw or bark.

Step5

Water the tree deeply. The watering range is semi-arid to boggy, but it should have at least an inch of water each week until it is established. Once established, unless you live in a particularly dry area, normal rainfall should be enough.

Tips & Warnings

This tree is deer, drought, pollution, slope and wind tolerant.
The Ablaze Red Maple should be planted in a mostly sand to some clay mixture. The pH should be 4 to 7.5.
If the tree comes in a wire basket, do not remove the basket–you may damage the root ball. Just cut the wires enough so the roots can get through. Don’t cut so much that the basket falls off.