Freeman's Maple - Acer X freemanii



The tree in it's attempt to take over that poor little old lady. RUN LITTLE OLD LADY!

This is a natural hybrid of A. rubrum and A. saccharum -> red maple and silver maple.
It has the best traits of both species: it grows faster than red maple; it has stronger wood and better fall color (remember, red maples have GREAT fall color, but silvers suck).







I like this bark better than some
It's not so.. boring.
Look, texture! Brown tones! Highlights!



There is a long petiole (quite long; and the petiole is the connector between the base of the leaf and the stem) and it's red. Red maples aren't consistently much of anything - they can be red, or not, or striped; they can have open canopies, or not; you get the idea. Remember? Well, Freeman's Maple tends to be a bit more consistent.

 It also doesn't have the silver under the leaf  and has deeply dissected lobes (think fingers as opposed to paws: paws tend to be rounded with very little in-between-the-toes space, while fingers have a ton of space between the toes). There are 3 lobes. This sets it way apart from the two species it was born from.

These are the samaras - seeds. They're very distinctive. If you remember the norway, they were glossy and a fresh froggy-green color. These are, well, red. Look how pretty they actually are!

Norway Maple - A. platanoides

This is a native of northern Europe, and once was one of the most commonly planted shade-and-street trees in the US. It has rapid growth and tolerates urban conditions such as air pollutants, cold temperatures and poor soils. It does lift up sidewalks with the roots, however, and the samaras get everywhere (much like any other maple, or the acorns from oaks). It is considered invasive and is prohibted to plant in MA; Connecticut considers it to be invasive but hasn't banned it, yet.




Samaras



The leaf, which can be confused with Sugar Maple



Zone 7 is the furthest south it is willing to travel.
Siting the species into a cool microclimate will aid in successfull establishment (planting it in cool places makes it happy).
There are plenty of cultivars (plants hybridized and grown for specific reasons, and don't occur naturally) that are supposed to be prettier, or have more heat tolerance, so this tree is doing its best to be diverse.

A cute tree, I think.



 The tree is obviously a bit rounded and doesn't grow out quite as much as other maples. It is a cute little thing, but apparently it's a pest in some places (meaning it puts other trees out, trying to take over and whatnot - otherwise known as 'invasive'). Even so, I happen to like it.

White Oak - Q. alba



This is in Baltimore at the UMD Botanical Gardens, or some such.



The spread on this tree can be extremely wide. This is why it is recommended to give it a LOT of reach-room!

White oaks set the standard for a lot of other oaks. A very large tree when fully grown, it grows into an awe-inspiring oval or rounded outline. The leaves are dark green or blue-green and have rounded lobes that turn to brown, red or burgundy in the fall. This is a tree best transplanted only when young, and lives for quite some time. Considering it's grandeur (and the fact that it doesn't branch like a Bur Oak), this is a tree that's fairly simple to identify.

This can easily be found here: University of Connecticut

The tree enjoys full sun and demands it: it'll grow over just about anything else, becoming a fantastic shade tree. It takes up a pretty large area, but is one of the most desirable, attractive oaks available.

It does enjoy more acidic soil and dislikes being disturbed (not a fan of compaction, construction). It is a slow growing tree, which isn't a surprise due to its size and wood strength. One must be cautious of gypsy moths (kill on sight!) Generally, though, damage is rarely significant.





These are young spring-growth leaves



White, chunky bark is attractive year round - if you're into white, chunky bark.

 This is a GREAT tree to preserve if it is located on a property that may have some contruction done. But, this is also one of those trees that can take a beating from construction. Be extra careful when it comes to protecting large trees such as this, because it can take years before it actually shows wear and tear - and by then, we generally have moved on and quit worrying, right?
 



Acorns are fairly large and the caps appear to cover perhaps a half of the nut.



Pre-flood!

Hello everyone!
I have about 65 plants that we've gone over in the course. I've gone over 8 here. You can see why I was a bit disappointed in falling behind.
You can also see why I named this 'pre-flood'. I intend to shove out as many plants as possible in the next week. I will put up as many pictures for ID purposes as possible but I will NOT be editing any, or adding any of my own embellishments. We get enough of that with the Plant ID weekly sheets (and due to how we were rained out yesterday, we get to put about 30 into one assignment in two weeks. Lovely.)

So, I will do my best to make sense. I also have a lot of other homework and studies to get to, but I'm doing my best to keep this at the top of my priority list. I intend to shove out about 13-15 trees a day to get caught up.


In the future, however, there will be 'shrubs and small trees', which include things such as crepe myrtles and hydrangea. So, things should become a lot more colorful and interesting. =)

Happy planting!