Trees - Sugar Maple
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  (March) I'm trying to plant some of the beautiful, orange-red maples like they have around Fayetteville. I always thought these were sugar maples. Recently, two people told me that sugar maples have yellow foliage in the fall. Can you tell me what the variety is that I'm trying to find and if they will tolerate our climate in Little Rock? I know I've seen several here but nobody seems to know exactly what they are. Also, my kids gave me a red maple (that's the way it was tagged and sold) but the leaves turned yellow in the fall. Are they supposed to or did someone sell them the wrong tree?

  The beautiful fall foliaged trees in Fayetteville are sugar maples. They turn brilliant shades of orange or yellow. While you will see some sugar maples in central Arkansas, they don't like our hot, humid summers. If they are planted in full morning sun and afternoon shade, they seem to do a little better, and make sure you can water them. For the red maples, the fall foliage color is extremely diverse. Some turn red, while others are yellow, and some have very poor fall color. If you want to be guaranteed red fall foliage, you must go with a named variety such as 'October Glory' or 'Red Sunset'.

  This fall I want to start some sugar maple and dogwoods from seed. I tried it once with dogwood seeds in an indoor planting area. Out of about 50 seeds, seven came up and got about five inches tall, then died. What is the best way to start both trees from seeds? I do have an area like a greenhouse inside. When is the best time to plant these seedlings outside? Should I fertilize the seeds? Thanks! (Fayetteville)

  Sugar maples ripen their seeds in the spring, rather than the fall. These seeds must be gathered promptly when mature and sown immediately, without allowing them to dry out. Dogwood seeds should be ripening soon. Harvest the seeds and remove the outer pulp. They must go through a cool, moist stratification period for a couple of months before they germinate. This can be done naturally outdoors, or you can put the seeds in a plastic bag, filled with moist peat moss, and then refrigerate them for a couple of months. Then plant the seeds in containers and they should be ready to germinate. If you want to start them indoors in your greenhouse, you can. Give them bright sunlight, keep them watered, and use a little water soluble fertilizer once they have started growing. Containers can be sunk in the ground outside with the seeds inside. Once they germinate in the spring, the seedlings can be moved as they get a big enough size for the landscape. Seedlings should not be grown indoors for too long, since they need to get acclimated to outside conditions. Of course, don’t move tender seedlings grown indoors, outside too early. Growing them in containers is a chore with watering, but makes transplanting easier.

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