Autumn Blaze Maple: Growth and Care Tips for the Stunning Fall Tree

If you are looking for a tree that is easy to maintain yet has breathtaking fall color foliage, a fast growth rate, and enhances the beauty of your garden, then the Autumn Blaze Maple is your perfect choice.

Living up to its name, the red Autumn Blaze Maple has beautiful orange-red leaves with a rich and warm tone that evokes feelings of joy and freshness. It is a large landscape tree that is a hybrid of the red maple and silver maple.

Whether you are a flora enthusiast or simply someone who wishes to elevate your balcony garden, you need to walk through this blog to explore its types, care requirements, and pruning methods.    

Autumn Blaze Tree: A Brief Overview

Similar to the Japanese Maple trees, the Autumn Blaze is a classic fall tree that is truly a visual delight for real tree lovers. If you wish to add a pop of red color to your garden, this tree is your perfect choice.

Having the resilience of the silver maple tree and the spectacularity of the red maple tree, this hybrid is a fast-growing evergreen tree and has combined features of both its parent trees. Let us check out some key attributes of this beauty.

This magnificent sapling also has its cultivars that create stunning landscapes. Scroll further to learn more about them.

Some Common Cultivars of Maple Trees

Maple Autumn Blaze are some of the most popular fall season trees, whose orange-golden foliage creates a picturesque walkway and is a head turner if planted in any garden area. Thankfully, this botanical miracle also includes several popular species.

As the name suggests, the leaves of this species are large and usually 12-inch (30.48 cm) wide palm-shaped, and dark green. Native to Western North America, this species requires full sun exposure and can grow up to 20-100 ft tall.

Also, commonly known as the Siberian Maple, the Amur tree generally has a dense crown-shaped structure. Thriving in full sun or partial shade, this tree is native to Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Siberia. Once fully grown, this species goes up to 30 ft (ca. 9 m) tall and becomes drought tolerant.

Hedge Maple is the most commonly spotted species of Maple tree, hence it is also known as the Common Maple or Field Maple tree. Mostly grown in Europe and Southwestern Asia, this tree can survive in difficult climatic conditions and has no fixed soil preference. 

Completely different from the entire Maple varieties, the leaves of this tree are similar to the Hornbeam tree. Popularly grown in Japan, this species is difficult to find on sale. Hornbeam is generally planted as a large shrub in vast landscapes.

Japanese Maple itself has thousands of cultivars and is a staple tree of Japanese gardens. The leaves of this species are either red or green and is a popular plant in the bonsai world. Native to China, Japan, and Korea, the dwarf variety of this species is generally used as ornamental shrubs.

As the name says, this maple species is called Norway Maple or European Maple. Crimson King having beautiful red maroon leaves is a popular variant of this tree. Once fully grown, Norway Maple can go up to 40-50 ft tall or even 90 ft (ca. 27 m) tall if given proper care. 

The Paperbark Maple tree has skinny standing paper-like bark that tends to peel away from the trunk. Mostly grown during spring, this maple species prefers well-drained, moist soil type, thrives in full sun exposure, and requires watering in moderation.

From the buds and seeds to the twigs and leaves, everything is red in the Red Maple tree. A member of the Sapindaceae family, this tree is native to North America and is the fastest-growing tree in the Eastern United States. Commonly also known as Swamp Maple or Scarlet Maple, this cultivar grows up to 40-70 ft tall. 

Some common names for Silver Maple are Creek Maple, River Maple, and White Maple. This species of the maple family is a fast-growing deciduous tree having eye-catching foliage. Native to Eastern North America, Silver Maple mostly blooms in cold seasons. 

If you are planning to grow a maple species in your backyard, this could be an ideal option. Although this species can be grown all year round, the red leaves of this tree are the brightest during the spring. Make sure that you use well-drained soil that is not too clayey and water it regularly twice or thrice a week.

By now you might have guessed that there is a maple tree for every season and since they are fast-growing trees with minimal maintenance, these can be a perfect addition to your backyard. If you are seeking fall color maple varieties, then Hedge Maple or Autumn Blaze Maples can be your go-to option.

Care Requirements of the Classic Fall Tree

Many garden fanatics seek trees with either orange flowers or bold blooming red flowers as they symbolize joy, freshness, and positivity and that is what exactly is the most prominent feature of the Autumn Blaze Maple. 

A tree that requires very little care and has a blend of both bold hues will surely captivate anyone’s attention. Let us understand some common care practices for the Autumn Blaze Red Maple Tree.

• Light Exposure: The Autumn Maple tree is usually the tallest of all the trees in the landscape due to which it gets accustomed to bright sunlight. Having said that, this species can thrive equally well in partially shady areas. 

• Soil Type: As has been noted earlier, this tree can tolerate different soil textures and can adjust itself accordingly. The most preferred type is permeable and properly drained soil. Adding organic nutrients like peat moss during plantation can be beneficial.

• Water Requirements: During plantation, the Autumn Blaze Red Maple requires consistent watering, but be sure that you allow the soil to dry up before watering again. Once fully grown, this tree becomes drought tolerant and will do well even with little rainfall every week. 

• Fertilizer: Avoid using fertilizers during the initial years of the tree. Once the species is a little mature, prefer using nitrogen-rich fertilizers, but be sure that you only sprinkle the chemical near the base area and not on the trunk or the leaves. 

The most important task for any gardener is to provide proper growth and care to the plants. Follow these simple aforementioned tips and your Maple Blaze tree will flourish beautifully. 

Propagation and Pruning of the Red Autumn Blaze Maple

Other than the basic requirements of soil, water, and light, knowing the correct method of pruning and propagation can significantly enhance the Autumn Blaze Maple growth rate. 

How to Prune Autumn Blaze Maple Tree?

Check out the below-mentioned easy pruning practices and ensure the healthy growth of your Maple tree.  

• Generally, the new growth of this vibrant beauty blooms during spring. Be sure that you prune your Blaze Maple during late winter or early spring before the new shoots emerge. 

• If you find any dead or diseased branches, cut them out and make sure that they aren’t too low or rubbing each other over. 

• Usually, the base of the tree trunk has some unwanted suckers that draw away the nutrition of the tree from the roots, impacting its growth and health. Remove them carefully from the base.

• Prune branches and stems that create an abrupt shape of the tree but avoid cutting any new emerging shoots. 

Give your fall tree a fresh cut every year and make sure you only prune when it is necessary.

Propagation of Autumn Blaze Red Maple Tree

Before jumping into the process of propagation, be sure that you are using a new young cutting. The propagation method is generally advisable to do in June and July, when the new shoots mostly grow.

1. Wear your gardening gloves and clean all your cutting and potting tools with rubbing alcohol. 

2. Prepare your potting soil mix, water it a little, and allow the water to drain completely.

3. Locate the branch with new growth, cut a 4-inch-long tip off the branch, and apply the rooting hormone chemical on the side you will plant in the pot. 

4. Place the cutting 2 inches deep in the potting soil mix and cover it with a plastic sheet.

5. Once the cutting develops roots, remove the plastic sheet and place it in a place where it gets indirect sunlight. After some days, you can plant the sapling in its permanent outdoor location, and it is good to go!

Following these simple pruning and propagation techniques, you can prevent damage and uprooting and ensure a longer life expectancy for your Maple Red Autumn Blaze. 

Maple Trees: Pros and Cons

Whether you are a green activist or simply a nature lover who wants to beautify his or her landscape, we are here to help you in making the right choice. Explore the following points and learn the pros and cons of the Autumn Blaze Maple tree.

Although all the Maple trees add a striking beauty to any landscape or garden area, knowing the pros and cons before planting the variety is always beneficial. 

Furthermore, let us discover some common pests and plant diseases in Maple Autumn Blaze.

Pest and Plant Disease in Autumn Blaze Tree

If you spot brown marks on the leaves, especially on the lower side of the foliage, then your Maple tree might be infected with a fungal infection and this usually happens due to high humidity. 

Other than leaf spots, the tree might get infested with mites, scales, and tree borers. You may also see white powdery spots on the leaves that can be treated by simply brushing off the powder.

To ensure that the tree doesn’t get infected with any of the pests and diseases, make sure that the tree gets full sun exposure and the dead branches are timely cut off. 

Conclusion

To sum up, we can say that the Autumn Blaze Maple tree adds extraordinary beauty to any landscape with its vibrant fall foliage. Like any other tree or plant, this species also requires care and love during its initial growing stages, and once fully mature, the tree will provide you abundant freshness, joy, and fresh air.

Go ahead and enhance your garden aesthetics!