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. Established trees have some tolerance for drought conditions.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Acer x freemanii, commonly called freeman maple, is a hybrid of red maple (A. rubrum) and silver maple (A. saccharinum). Only specific cultivars of the original cross are sold in commerce today. ‘Jeffersred’, sold under the trade name of AUTUMN BLAZE, is an older cultivar that was discovered by nurseryman Glenn Jeffers in the late 1960s. This is an upright, fast-growing, deciduous tree that will typically grow 40-55’ tall with ascending branching and a dense, broad-oval crown. Each medium green leaf is deeply cut with five pointed lobes. As the trade name suggests, the foliage turns into an autumn blaze of orange-red to scarlet-red fall color. Flowers and fruit for this hybrid are very sparse. Common name honors Oliver Freeman who first grew A. x freemanii at the U. S. National Arboretum in 1933. U.S. Plant Patent PP04,864 issued July 6, 1982.