The hybrids between the red (A. rubrum) and the silver A. saccharinum) have been around for a long time but they are not very common in our area. The two species overlap in their natural habitats so the hybridization has been occurring naturally as well as controlled hybridizing. The red maple parents provide the fall color and the "better" branching structure while the silver maple parents provide the leaf shape and fast rate of growth and perhaps tolerance to adverse conditions. There are a handful of cultivars. This particular cultivar grows into an upright oval shaped form to 60'. The Autumn Blaze® is the trademarked name but used interchangeably with the common name.
This image is really 3 trees in a row so they look a little wider than a single tree.
Fall color is one of the reasons people plant these trees.
The branch structure needs work when young or you end up with several co-dominate leaders. I mentioned better structure, but they usually end up with co-dominate leaders that result in splitting the trunk.
Oregon State University Horticulture department page and a nice writeup on these and red maple cultivars. They have been given various names, sometimes as a red maple cultivar or as a hybrid.
This image was published by The Journal of Aboriculture years ago showing this cultivar listed as a red maple cultivar.
Misidentification: Silver maple most likely. The leaves look more Silver but the Silver leaves have a deeper dissection. Silver Maple
Location
Aptos
404 Townsend Dr.
407 Ewell Ave.
