Lou: The 'Fire Dragon' shantung maple is really beautiful. I can see why you recommend it so highly. From what I read on the Metro Maples web site, it may even tolerate wind.

I didn't find any information about shipping on their site. Do you know if they ship or plan to ship in the future?

Pam-

Click on the link that I provided - you should see "Fire Dragonî Shantung SHIPPING INFO". You will need to scroll down to the bottom where you can leave a comment. Make sure to use "Ship me fire dragon" for the subject line then provide the shipping address. The tree is 35 dollars plus shipping. It depends on the location. The price seems cheap considering that I paid 45-85 dollars for some trees at that place that is 15 miles from me. The price goes up and down depending on the mood of the owner, I suppose.

Lou:

Thank you! I didn't know I could leave a comment re: ordering. I have a couple of questions re: wind tolerance so I'll contact Metro Maples. BTW: the images on their site are amazing.

Trust me, they are that strong. I pruned 3/4th inch branch and gave it to my dog to chew on but he wasn't interested in it. After a couple weeks, I was cleaning the backyard up a bit and the branch was still there so I decided to try and break it in half. Whoo... I couldn't do it. Kansas did an evaluation on it and said it was one of best trees for wind and ice storms. Based on how hard it was for me to break that branch in half, I'd agree with that. I was impressed...

I agree with Lou. Metro Maples has great, healthy trees.

Lou and dripdrip: I hope you are right about the Shantung maple.

I live in a contemporary house with strong horizontal lines. A landscape designer recommended that I plant a 'Bloodgood' J.M. in a large bed in front of the house. I did. It died (wind, wind, wind). I planted another, locally grown, so it should have more wind tolerance. It nearly died. I dug it up and planted it where it has more protection.

Now the bed in front of the house is empty of trees. Well, that's not true. In desperation, I planted a dawn redwood in the bed - it struggled but survived last year. Since I planted 14 dawn redwoods along the driveway. I'd like to find something different and more colorful for the bed in front of the house.

'Bloodgood' was not a good choice. 'Fire Dragon' may be a better choice and may tolerate the hot, windy conditions. But, after two bad experiences with 'Bloodgood,' I am wary of these maples.

Those pictures of the tree are beautiful! If I had a spot in front of my house for a featured tree, I think I might pick this one. It sure looks like a good substitute for JMs!
Sherry

Shantung Maple has done very well out here in the Great Plains and believe me, that's saying a lot, since many trees struggle with the heat(a dry desert like heat) and wind out here. I've seen it growing well in Salina, KS, Hutchison, KS, Wichita, KS, Oklahoma City, OK, Ardmore, OK, Gainesville, TX, Dallas, TX, Wichita Falls, TX, and Waco, TX. Like Lou mentioned it also did very well in trials at the John Pair Research Station near Wichita, KS. It also grows well and gives great fall color down into South Texas, where few other trees give good fall colors. It grows well up into Nebraska, so it's cold hardy as well(zone 5). It's much much tougher in terms of wind, ice, heat, and cold hardiness than Japanese Maple. Along with the Caddo Maples(couple different cultivars named by the late Dr. John Pair) which also did very well in the trials up near Wichita, KS, I'd say they are the toughest, best performing ornamental Maples out in the Great Plains(Silver Maple does well also, but usually isn't nearly as ornamental as these and isn't nearly as good in ice storms). My Shantung Maple which is planted out in a field has grown well and performed great for me, although I'm in a very humid summer area with relatively high rainfall(40" per year).

kman: Your information about conditions in places where this tree survives is persuasive. Hot dry winds out of the south have been the main factor in killing several trees close to the house - the wind is stronger and there is little or no protection.

I would love to find a good looking ornamental tree or two. I'll give the Shantung maple a try.

Thanks to you all,
Pam