General Culture:

Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, acidic soils with good drainage.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Acer rubrum is a deciduous, Missouri native tree that will typically grow 40-60’ tall with a rounded to oval crown. It grows faster than Norway and sugar maples, but slower than silver maple. In northern states, red maple usually occurs in wet bottomland, river flood plains and wet woods, but in Missouri it typically frequents drier, rocky upland areas. Sap of this tree can be used to make maple syrup that is inferior in quality to syrups made from the sugar maple. ‘Karpick’ is a male cultivar that is noted for its narrow form. It grows to 40-50’ tall but only to 20’ wide. Red flowers appear in early spring before the foliage emerges. Green leaves have 3-5 lobes and are 3-6” across. Red twigs are noticeable. Good yellow or red fall color. Cultivar name honors Frank E. Karpick, former City Forester of Buffalo, New York.