Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Red Sunset® red maple
Acer rubrum
Red Sunset red maple leaves in autumn; cultivar named by the Wikimedia Commons contributor.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadePhoto by David J. Stang ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Early reliable color; select rootstock and site carefully to reduce chlorosis and surface roots.
Usually three or five lobes have visibly toothed edges. Compare the angular gaps with sugar maple's smoother U-shaped sinuses.
More growing details
Read the bark
Smooth gray young bark becomes ridged and scaly with age.
Fruit & seed
Small paired samaras often blush red and mature in spring rather than fall.
Winter character
Rounded red flower buds clustered on opposite twigs can be useful.
Origin & place
The species occurs naturally in the southern Appalachian region; a planted specimen is not evidence of wild local origin.
Compare with Sugar maple
Sugar maple usually has fewer marginal teeth and broad rounded sinuses; compare more than one leaf.
WNC Notes
Early reliable color; select rootstock and site carefully to reduce chlorosis and surface roots.
Sun Exposure
Full sun–part shade
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
40–50
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
30–40
BLOOM SEASON
Late winter–early spring
BLOOM COLOR
Red
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Orange-red
Wet-Soil Tolerance
High
Drought Tolerance
Moderate
LOOK CLOSELY
Two views, a closer look.
Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.
Red Sunset red maple leaves in autumn; cultivar named by the Wikimedia Commons contributor.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadePhoto by David J. Stang ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Red maple leaves in autumn. Notice the pointed lobes and toothed edges. Species reference; leaf form does not establish a named red maple cultivar.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeCathy Dewitt ↗ · CC BY 4.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Trunk and branches of red maple — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeAmanda Munoz ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.Double-winged samaras have a red color. — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeCarol Jacobs-Carre ↗ · CC BY-SA 3.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
Your margin of the garden.
Saved only in this browser on this device. Export your notes from My garden in the library.
