Autumn Blaze

[DTro]

A few months ago I had a large Maple hit by lightning. I cut it down and left the stump. I drilled it full of holes and added a chemical to break it down quicker.

Since then I have a clump of seedlings growing pretty fast next to the stump. What can I expect to happen here? If I wanted to grow one of these should I let the entire clump grow and then thin it out or thin it out now? or is it a worthless cause right next to the dead stump there?

[pushbutton]

Pretty sure the Autumn Blaze is a hybrid and not a graft so suppose you now could grow a "clump specimen" if you wanted to. Upside is that it will grow fast without having to spend the money to start over. Down side is that it might grow too fast with that supercharged root system and a cold winter within the next few years, with that fast growth, might knock it back pretty good and leave you with an even more interesting type specimen. Another drawback could be the constant pruning you would have to do around the base for a while. If it were mine I would probably keep pruning it back to about 7 main branches, after a couple years, take out two more, then a few years later, pick out your best three and call it good.

[pushbutton]

Just thought about this and am sure the tree was grafted, regardless if it was a hybrid. Would assume it would have been on a silver rootstock.....soooo if this stuff is growing from the ground, not from a spot above the graft on the stump, and listened to my advice above....you would just be coddling along a silver maple without pretty red leaves..... might want to move the fire pit there for a year

[CarpinMNRiver]

Chop it out of there and plant a new one. Are the shoots coming out of the ground or off the stump? Good deals at the box stores this time of year on trees otherwise I can get you nursery stock at wholesale prices. You will be an old man by the time those shooters become anything large.

[DTro]

Ok, thanks guys. So can I replant something right near the stump or do I have to rip that out of there too?

[pushbutton]

You can plant it as close as you are able to get a big enough hole to plant the new one properly. Those shoots might be a pain for awhile though. Like I mentioned above, redneck stump removal is our choice up here in the sticks, chopping it out might strain some casting/reeling muscles If you are in no rush, could always wait to see what color the leaves turn this fall and see if there is any red genes left.

[delcecchi]

From my recent reading, it could be grafted or it could be from a cutting. The autumn Blaze HSOforum isn't specific.

If it is not grafted it will grow like crazy since it has a full size root system already. Should be obvious in a few days whether it will be red or not.

[pushbutton]

That one caught me a little unsure at first as well, and while the actual propagation is done by cuttings and tissue culture, almost guarantee that all the big growers are not taking the time to raise them without grafting them on a silver rootstock. Nearly every tree is grafted nowadays as it greatly hastens the time to market as well as for enhancing hardiness.

[Dotch]

I would tend to agree on the larger potted stock or balled and burlapped but I'd bet the 3' whips we're getting from the SWCD's out here are Freeman/Autumn Blaze maple rootstock. They may be tissue cultured but no evidence of grafting on any that I've planted thus far.

[delcecchi]

Shouldn't it be obvious by now if they are red or yellow? If the rootstock is silver maple or something like that, those suckers should be tuning yellow. It it is blaze rootstock they will be red, right?

So Dtro which is it? I am getting pretty curious.

[CarpinMNRiver]

Autumn Blaze has a silver maple root stock. Pretty positive whatever grows will be a silver.

[DTro]

Well, it currently looks the same as the picture I first posted....

[DTro]

From today:

[delcecchi]

You must live WAY south of the river. My maples here in Rochester are all pretty bare, although there is one up the street that still has some leaves on it.

Looks red to me, so it might be non-grafted. I know there is a word for being on the same rootstock but can't come up with it.

[DTro]

Not sure what color it is now?

[delcecchi]

Just out of curiosity, when did you take that picture? No leaves on anything but a couple of oak trees around tropical Rochester.

[DTro]

I took that picture today

[delcecchi]

Amazing the leaves are holding like that. You must live WAY south of the river.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Amazing the leaves are holding like that. You must live WAY south of the river.

Sheesh... south of the MISSOURI river even.

[half-dutch]

This is what is called a coppice, a type of copse consisting of a number of suckers off a stump. Autumn Blaze is a hybrid between silver and red maples (the latter is where it gets its autumn color). Both species sucker. If these were late season to start with, they may be holding their leaves because they were so young and were not yet hardened off enough. That may or may not indicate that there will be winter damage.

When grown like this and cut back every year or two it will produce a very nice bush with impressive fall coloring. I have also seen that done with red leaved Norway maples, where the young leaves on the new suckers were colored up very nicely all season. The more suckers it has the smaller they will all stay between haircuts.

To kill this cut it off below the suckering points (you may have to dig out a bit) and repeat for a couple of seasons. Eventually it will give up and die. A second cut back in mid to late summer will hasten the end, since they will not have time to harden off enough to fully feed the roots for overwintering. Like all maples these trees bleed if cut during spring and into the growing season.

Alternatively you can select a single sucker cutting out all others and regrow your tree, too. The coppice looks like it was an own root tree to begin with.