Acer x freemanii 'Jeffersred' AUTUMN BLAZE
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Tried and True Recommended by 9 Professionals
Common Name: Freeman maple
Type: Tree
Family: Sapindaceae
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 40 to 55 feet
Spread: 30 to 40 feet
Bloom Time: Rarely flowers
Bloom Color: Green
Bloom Description: Greenish-yellow to red
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Leaves: Good Fall Color
Tolerates: Wet Soil
Uses: Rain Garden, Shade Tree, Street Tree

Culture

Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, acidic soils with good drainage. Established trees have some tolerance for drought conditions.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Acer x freemanii, commonly called freeman maple, is a hybrid of red maple (A. rubrum) and silver maple (A. saccharinum). Only specific cultivars of the original cross are sold in commerce today. ‘Jeffersred’, sold under the trade name of AUTUMN BLAZE, is an older cultivar that was discovered by nurseryman Glenn Jeffers in the late 1960s. This is an upright, fast-growing, deciduous tree that will typically grow 40-55’ tall with ascending branching and a dense, broad-oval crown. Each medium green leaf is deeply cut with five pointed lobes. As the trade name suggests, the foliage turns into an autumn blaze of orange-red to scarlet-red fall color. Flowers and fruit for this hybrid are very sparse. Common name honors Oliver Freeman who first grew A. x freemani at the U. S. National Arboretum in 1933. U.S. Plant Patent PP04,864 issued July 6, 1982.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems.

Garden Uses

Specimen tree for the lawn, street or park.

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