Red Rocket Maple
The ‘Red Rocket’ possesses all the qualities of the red maple, but has a slender, conical form. Even though maples aren’t widely recognized for their flowers, they are among the first trees to offer color to the landscape after a long winter because of the big clusters of red flowers they produce in the early spring. In addition, they have large, green leaves that can provide some shade for a residence or yard. An excellent choice for urban plantings due to its strictly upright growth style, brilliant red fall color with orange highlights, and spectacular red blossoms that line the bare branches in spring.
This tree is an ideal red maple for confined spaces that require intense red fall color is the Red Rocket Maple. This tree is also ideal for urban environments due to its small size and upright habit. This resilient columnar-shaped maple is great for brightening up any little landscape. Its small, upright size makes it an ideal street tree species for cities. Its fall foliage is red. The ‘Red Rocket’ was first introduced by the United States National Arboretum, which is found in northern Minnesota.
Red Rocket Maple Pros and Cons
Pros:
The Red Rocket Maple tree is known for its brilliant fall color, a blazing red, and its high endurance for cold. Fall landscapes are illuminated by this medium-sized red maple tree with upright growth habits. The hardy and interesting Red Rocket Maple is a dream come true for places that need bright red fall colors.
This columnar maple is typically used as a vertical ornamental tree or to fill in spaces in any cool-climate landscape. Silver bark with furrows provides additional interest and texture. After the leaf fall, red branches brighten the scene.
Red Rocket Red Maple is recognized for its columnar appearance in the environment. In the early spring, before the leaves appear, it displays clusters of brilliant red blooms along the branches. It has green leaves that turn red when spring comes. The fall colors on the lobed leaves are spectacular.
Cons:
This low-maintenance tree ‘bleeds’ sap if cut in late winter or early spring, so it’s best to wait until summer, when the leaves have fully matured, to do any serious pruning. It lacks any significant negative qualities.
Red Rocket Maple Care
Red Rocket Maple usually attains a height of 40 feet and a width of 10 feet at maturity. The average height of its canopy is only 4 feet, making it unsafe to plant beneath overhead power lines. It exhibits a medium rate of growth and, in a perfect world, can live up to 70 years or longer.
This tree requires complete sunlight to thrive. It is highly adaptable, prefers to grow in ordinary to wet circumstances, and can even withstand some standing water. It is indifferent to soil type, but mostly prefers acidic soils and is susceptible to chlorosis (leaf discoloration) in alkaline soils. This red maple will thrive in slightly acidic, well-drained soils. It can tolerate urban pollutants to some extent.
Red Rocket Maple Problems
The hot summers in the Tri-Cities area of Washington make the Red Rocket Maple Tree a poor choice. However, this tree is a great selection in colder areas. This maple tree is hardy in USDA hardiness zone 3, which experiences winter lows of -40 to -30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Anthracnose, Verticillium wilt, powdery mildew, root rot, and tar spot are common diseases that affect red maple trees.
Fungal spores in the soil are the vector for the disease known as verticillium wilt. Red maple leaves start to yellow, then become brown, and finally fall off as a result of it. Another type of fungal disease that can affect red maple trees is known as tar spot, and it manifests as spots that are yellowish or brown. Young red maple twigs and leaves are susceptible to the fungal disease anthracnose, which causes distortion and often death.
Diseases of the red maple are typically treated by removing infected branches, spraying the soil with fungicide, or employing a mix of chemical and cultural management.
Common treatments for red maple diseases include pruning affected branches, applying fungicide to the soil, and using a combination of cultural and chemical controls.
