🍁 Acer × freemanii ‘Jeffersred’ AUTUMN BLAZE® – Autumn Blaze Freeman Maple

🔎 Identification

Scientific name: Acer × freemanii ‘Jeffersred’.

Trade name: Autumn Blaze® Maple.

Family: Sapindaceae (soapberry family), formerly Aceraceae.

Common names: Freeman maple, Autumn Blaze maple.

Parent species' origins:

• Acer rubrum (red maple), native to eastern North America.

• Acer saccharinum (silver maple), native to eastern and central North America.

Cultivar origin: American horticultural selection discovered by Ohio nurseryman Glenn Jeffers in the late 1960s.

Type: Large deciduous ornamental and shade tree.

Patent: PP4,864, issued in 1982.

Special feature: Especially appreciated for fast growth, a dense oval habit and scarlet to reddish-orange fall colour. Combines silver maple's vigour and adaptability with red maple's spectacular fall colours.

🌿 Botanical description

Habit: Upright, oval to broadly oval, with a dense, relatively regular crown.

Height: About 12 to 17 m at maturity.

Spread: About 9 to 12 m, sometimes more depending on conditions.

Growth: Fast. Can grow about 60 to 90 cm annually in favourable conditions.

Trunk: Generally straight, with pronounced vertical growth.

Branches: Ascending, forming relatively narrow angles with the trunk. The crown gradually broadens with age.

Bark:

• Light grey to greyish brown on young trees.

• Relatively smooth during the first few years.

• Gradually becomes rougher with age.

• Shallow furrows at maturity.

Twigs: Reddish brown to greyish brown.

Leaves:

• Simple and opposite.

• Palmate.

• Generally with five pointed lobes.

• Relatively deep divisions between lobes.

• Toothed margins.

• About 8 to 10 cm long.

• Medium to bright green in summer.

• Relatively glossy upper surface.

• Paler underside, sometimes silvery.

• Petioles often reddish.

• Young spring leaves sometimes tinged bronze or red.

Special feature: Leaf shape is intermediate between red and silver maple. Five well-defined lobes create an elegant appearance, while relatively dense foliage provides excellent shade.

🌼 Flowering

Period: March to April, sometimes later depending on the climate.

Flowering: Inconspicuous and relatively sparse.

Flowers:

• Small flowers grouped in clusters or flower heads.

• Generally without obvious true petals.

• May show reddish, greenish or yellowish shades.

• Appear before or at bud break.

• May occur on twigs before leaves fully emerge.

Colour: Reddish, greenish yellow to pale red.

Duration: Relatively short.

Special feature: Unlike spectacular fall foliage, Autumn Blaze® flowering is inconspicuous and not its main ornamental attraction. A small crop of samaras may follow, but the cultivar generally produces little fruit.

🍃 Fruit

Type: Paired samaras, typical of maples.

Size: About 2 to 3 cm per samara, depending on conditions.

Shape:

• Two joined seeds.

• Two membranous wings.

• Generally arranged at an angle.

• Characteristic helicopter shape.

Colour: Initially green, then yellowish brown at maturity.

Ripening period: Spring to early summer, when fruit is produced.

Production: Generally low to very low.

Special feature: Autumn Blaze® is often described as producing very few samaras compared with many other maples. This is useful in landscapes because it limits seeds falling to the ground.

Edibility: Samaras are not considered food fruit.

🍂 Fall colour

Period: September to October, depending on climate and region.

Colours:

• Bright orange.

• Reddish orange.

• Scarlet red.

• Crimson red.

• Dark red to burgundy.

Special feature: Fall colour is Autumn Blaze®'s main attraction. Green foliage generally becomes a beautiful reddish orange to scarlet red. The transition can be especially spectacular with cool fall temperatures and sunny days.

Colour is generally fairly uniform across the crown and may last several weeks before leaf fall.

🌱 Growing conditions

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade.

Soil: Fertile, relatively deep and well drained. Tolerates different soil types.

Texture: Prefers loam but can also grow in clay and sand.

pH: Slightly acidic to neutral. Tolerates alkaline soil relatively well, better than many Acer rubrum cultivars.

Moisture: Prefers cool, moderately moist soil. Also tolerates wetter soil and some drought once established.

Watering: Regular during the first few years and prolonged droughts.

Planting: Spring or fall.

Spacing: Allow about 9 to 12 m for natural crown development.

Location: Choose a sunny, sufficiently spacious spot, relatively sheltered from strong winds.

Special feature: Autumn Blaze® is particularly adaptable to urban conditions. It tolerates air pollution, various soil types and some drought. Sufficiently deep soil is nevertheless preferable for root development and rapid growth.

❄️ Hardiness

Zones: 3 to 8 according to several horticultural references. Some sources recommend zone 4 for greater reliability where winters are very harsh.

Approximate minimum temperature: About -34 to -29 °C, depending on hardiness references and growing conditions.

Winter resistance:

• Good overall hardiness.

• Suited to several cold regions of North America.

• May nevertheless suffer winter damage in particularly harsh areas.

• Young trees may be more sensitive to major temperature fluctuations.

• Winter winds can increase branch desiccation.

• Heavy snow and ice accumulation can break branches.

Special feature: Despite a zone 3 rating from many nurseries, Autumn Blaze® may have survival problems in some very cold regions, especially with drying winds and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. In Quebec, choose well-established trees and a protected location.

✂️ Care

Pruning: Formative pruning is strongly recommended during the first few years to encourage a strong framework.

Pruning period: Ideally summer or dormancy, avoiding heavy sap flow in early spring.

Formative pruning:

• Identify and retain a strong central leader.

• Remove branches with overly narrow attachment angles.

• Remove crossing branches.

• Correct forks that could split.

• Maintain balanced structure.

Fertilizing: Generally unnecessary in sufficiently fertile soil. Compost may be applied in spring if needed.

Mulching: Recommended to retain soil moisture and reduce grass competition.

Watering: Monitor especially during the first few years after planting.

Propagation: Mainly by grafting to faithfully retain cultivar characteristics.

Transplanting: Prefer young trees; large maples can be difficult to transplant because of developed root systems.

Diseases and pests:

• Aphids.

• Scale insects.

• Leafhoppers.

• Wood borers.

• Verticillium wilt.

• Leaf spots.

• Marginal leaf scorch.

• Root rot in poorly drained soil.

Special feature: Autumn Blaze® generally has no major disease or insect problems. Its main concern is branch structure. Narrow forks can weaken over time and break during snowstorms, ice storms or strong winds. Early formative pruning is therefore especially important.

🦋 Ecological value

• Spring flowers can provide pollen for insects.

• Dense foliage shelters several bird species.

• Large crown provides significant shade.

• Can help reduce temperatures in urban spaces.

• Contributes to atmospheric carbon capture.

• Provides habitat for various tree-associated organisms.

• Can be included in large gardens and urban landscapes.

Special feature: Fast growth and a large crown make Autumn Blaze® useful for quickly creating shade. Its ecological value lies mainly in substantial vegetation cover rather than flowering or fruit production.

🏡 Landscape uses

• Shade tree.

• Specimen planting in large gardens.

• Municipal parks.

• Landscaping large properties.

• Rows of trees.

• Urban landscapes.

• Edges of large parking areas.

• Institutional green spaces.

• Creating shaded areas.

Special feature: Rapid development and spectacular fall colour make it popular for landscaping projects needing a large tree with strong visual impact in fall. Avoid small residential spaces and locations too close to buildings.

✅ Highlights

• Fast growth.

• Spectacular reddish-orange to scarlet fall colours.

• Dense, relatively uniform foliage.

• Upright, broadly oval habit.

• Excellent shade tree.

• Large crown at maturity.

• Good overall hardiness.

• Good air pollution tolerance.

• Noteworthy alkaline soil tolerance.

• Well adapted to urban conditions.

• Drought tolerance once established.

• Generally low samara production.

• Few major disease or pest problems.

• Suited to large gardens and parks.

• Quick landscape impact thanks to vigour.

• Relatively long-lasting fall colour.

❌ Points to consider

• Large size requires plenty of space.

• Can reach 15 to 17 m tall.

• Spread can exceed 10 m.

• Branches sometimes weak at narrow forks.

• Risk of breakage during ice storms and heavy snow.

• Formative pruning is important during the first few years.

• May develop surface roots.

• Roots may compete with lawns and nearby plantings.

• Unsuitable for small gardens.

• Extremely dry soil can slow growth.

• Young trees need regular watering.

• Fall colour can vary with the climate.

• May be affected by Verticillium wilt and some wood-boring insects.

🍁 Distinctive feature: Autumn Blaze® is one of the most popular hybrid maples for fast growth and exceptional fall colour. A cross between Acer rubrum and Acer saccharinum, it combines silver maple vigour with red maple's beautiful fall colours. Bright green summer foliage forms a dense, broadly oval crown providing excellent shade. In fall, the tree becomes a blaze of orange, scarlet and crimson. Rapid growth to a large size makes it excellent for parks, large properties and urban landscapes. Branch structure nevertheless needs particular attention when young to encourage a strong, long-lived tree.