I really wish Walmart would stop selling trees.

Stan, instead of Crimson King, search the nurseries for "Prairie Splendor" Norway Maple, if they don't have it, ask them to obtain it ... this one is out of Lethbridge and is a very hardy seedling of Crimson King. I planted it last summer and it wintered very well, even after temps of -41 C.

Here's a few pics from today taken in the early morning sunlight. It also colors up really nicely in the autumn. I love this tree and have now planted several. Terry

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Gorgeous tree, Terry! How big are those leaves? They look huge!

Ohh, that is nice!

Terry, thank you very much for that excellent information and what pictures! WoW! Well it looks like I'll be off looking for that tree this weekend because now that I see it, I definately want it. thanks again. Stan

You're welcome Stan ... I hope you can find "Prairie Splendor" ... don't settle for any other variety, even though you might be told they're hardy for zone 3, most truly are not. I have seen others that have done well for several years, only to be knocked back badly.

garden_chicken, "How big are those leaves? They look huge!" ...

crazy_gardener, "Ohh, that is nice!" ... that's why I now have 3 of them in my yard!

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Oh dear, I really want one now.....Terry, do you mind telling us how much $ you paid and did you order directly from a Lethbridge nursery?

I really love those huge dark leaves!

Sharon

Hi Sharon, I had seen some available at Kuhlman's starting at $100 and also available at Wellington's, that's where I had picked mine up. This tree is a real punctuation mark in the landscape!

Terry

That tree is gorgeous Terry! I was thinking of planting an Amur Maple as a "backdrop" tree for my waterfall, but after seeing these pictures, oooooh....I may have to change my mind:)
May not be this year, but will certainly be keeping a lookout for it.
Thanks for sharing your pictures & information.
Debbie

Where is Kuhlman's & Wellington's?

I would pay $100 now knowing that PS is hardy ;)

Sharon

Not sure if you will get this early enough today Sharon, but Wickhams have their 20% off on trees/shrubs sale today and while I was there, I got a Prairie Splendor...they still had 2 left. Reg price $119.98 and got it for $95.96
Although the pics that Terry posted are wonderful, it is even better seeing this tree in person! (which ended up being the deciding factor for it and not the Amur)
off topic, but they had perennials on 1/2 price from 6-8am and I finally got my Going Banana's Itoh peony for only $25!:) and quite abit other stuff...
Deb

Way to go Deb, now that I know where to buy, I'll wait till next spring and see how yours does first ;)

Sharon

I just read these posting with a lot of interest as I just bought a prairie splendor norway maple a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't looking for it, didn't even know it existed, it sort of found me because it was such an eye catcher. I now have a little more hope that it may actually survive. Being from Ontario originally I am thrilled to get any maples to grow here that have the real 'maple leaf' shaped leaf. I got my psnw at Golden Acre in Calgary for $120 but it came with a five year guarantee from them (as opposed to the normal 1 year) if I got some special kind of fertilizer to use when planting it so, needless to say, I got the fertilizer which wasn't too pricey.
I also have 2 Autumn Blaze maples in my yard which I got several years ago at Walmart for less than $12 a piece. They have done very well and grow about one and a half feet a year. The leaves are green but not nearly as big as the leaves of the psnw but they are the 'right' shape. The tree turns a brilliant red in the fall so it will be absolutely stunning when (if) it grows to maturity here.
Nelda

Nelda, good to also know of your success with "Autumn Blaze", this is one I was also considering as I really like the foliage. I have "Autumn Spire" and the fall coloring was both brillant and long lasting ... though, I'm not so keen upon the shape of the leaves, as they have fewer lobes and my tree had experienced been some dieback.

Terry

neldab,

Maples are way underused in Calgary. There are some very good varieties that are perfectly hardy here, and they don't have too many problems because the pests that bother them don't exist here.

Well, I did it, I went to Hole's and bought a Prairie Splendor. Really took a bite out of the old wallet, $220.00, but it is about 1l' high and man is it beautiful. Holes guarantees the trees for 5 years if you plant it using Mykes so I bought a small pail of that too $11.00. My budget for this year is gone but I'm going to love that tree. Thanks twrosz for your suggestiion. Stan

Hi Stan, please later let us know how your new Prairie Splendor does for you? My tree had not grown much this summer and I'm hoping for a growth spurt next year.

Terry

I will be planting it this week end because we are making a flower be in the front of the house and this tree will be the feature. I just love when the sun hits the leaves, they almost look transparent and they are HUGE! Must take a picture for next year. Thaks again. Stan

Okay, I might have bad news for some of you who have purchased 'Prairie Splendor' ... for many in which I have seen are mislabelled and instead are 'Crimson King'. If the foliage has colored up brightly, then you have the real thing, if it has remained black, such in my bottom two photos here, then you more than likely have 'Crimson King'. Keep your receipt handy guys!

Terry

Well, my 'Prairie Splendor' has now lost all it's foliage, foliage that had colored up very nicely. The other two trees, which I'm sure are 'Crimson King' still have all their black leaves holding on ...

Terry

Mine too has lost all it's leaves. Terry, I bought mine from Holes and paid dearly for it so I certainly hope it is what the tag says. It certainly is a beautiful tree

Wondering all you people that have Prairie Splendor, did it make the winter?

Sharon

hi Sharon, yes my tree made it through and is starting to have some buds so I am really happy because it was a lot of money. Sharon, on another topic, I think it was you who had those beautiful hanging baskets with Cherry Tidal Wave petunias, if so, I have some 12" hanging basket and wanted to know how many you put in each. thanks Stan

That is great to hear Stan!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hanging Basket thread

Mine looks good too! Budding out and even scratched the bark really high up on a branch and it was green. So fingers crossed that it does well
Debbie

That is great too Debbie, you and Stan live close to me ;)

Has your tree leafed out yet Stan? Mine looked SO promising on my last post, but since then, we had that terrible cold weather/froze hard here, that the buds have all dried up ...just finally got some nice weather the last couple of days, but I'm afraid my tree is looking like it is done for:(
Deb

I bit the bullet today and brought a Prairie Splendor home.
Only $99 for a huge tree. It is lovely.

My trees are all doing good ... though, the one did die back somewhat on top, but it was planted in rather poor soil compared to the others and so I'm gonna dig around it and do some amending.

I will state again, that two of the trees have darker foliage, foliage that turns bat black in the summer, these I'm rather sure are Crimson King, I've seen so many at the nurseries. The other is more reddish, this is likely the real McCoy, Prairie Splendor ... to which I have a preference.

Terry

My trees are doing good this year, other than the one I overdosed with fertilizer and it pushed new late season growth and then slowly croaked the next year.

Both these trees were purchased as 'Prairie Splendor', though I definitely have two different varieties. The tree in this first photo is brilliantly eye catching and shows outstanding fall colors.

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The below tree is more subdued and displays no colorful autumn colors, though is a great specimen just the same

Put in a Prairie Splendor a couple of years. Two weeks after I put in it we had that horrible hard frost. It did have some dieback as a result the following spring (last year). It did push out good growth though.

This year though? It's already grown a foot. A foot. Now I'm scared.

The tree in the fourth photo above has now become this 15 ft tall beauty ...

'Prairie Splendor'

I don't have a picture yet but I must say I am very disapointed with my Prairie Splendor. It was about 12 ft tall when I bought it but at least 5 ft froze over winter. I bought this tree for a friend of mine and it was planted in the front of her yard, brand new house. I will try to post a couple of pictures in the next few days but some of the suckers look better than the branches. I will be cutting off the dead part in the next couple of days as well as the suckers. Too bad, all in all very disapointed

Stan, I wouldn't cut off the suckers yet. If this tree isn't hardy in the spot where it's planted, it might never grow into a tree, and could suffer serious dieback each winter. But it might make a great large bush, where the suckers form a tall upright bush, and any winter dieback can be pruned off each spring and quickly replaced with new growth.

I have a sugar maple that grows like this. I started it as a seed I collected in Barrie Ontario about 20 years ago, it grew into a 10-15 foot tall tree, then a nasty winter killed the whole thing down to about a foot and a half. Since then it has grown bush-like and multi-stemmed, but I really like it. It's back to it's former height, just much bushier.

Stan, sorry to hear that, I know it's very frustrating when putting out good money and having the anticipation of a tree that then fails to thrive.

I have three 'Prairie Splendor' in my very protected backyard, they've done excellent, though the largest of them (shown above) did flush out late last summer and experienced some dieback. In '09 I had made a bonehead mistake of giving too much fertilizer to one tree and it then grew late into the season and proceeded to die the following spring, it's been replaced with another 'PS'. I hope these trees continue to do well and won't be struck back by a particularly hard winter, one never knows in this climate!

I guess I made a silly mistake because this tree was planted in the front yard and is pretty much wide open to the weather. Should have bought her another tree like a flowering crab, something that is very hardy. We will wait one more year and if it doesn't get any better, I'll get her another tree, something less fancy but hardier

From today, this one has colored up nicely. It was a very windy day and as you can see the leaves are now pretty much gone from the trembling aspen.

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My brother-in-law said he loved Crimson King maples, and we are ordering one to be planted. We're spending some large dollars, and I want it to be right. I take it some people on this forum don't like these trees. Is it because the leaves are purple instead of black? It is for our front yard, to replace a big evergreen that died out. The area is large and almost full-sun.

DonandLynne, these trees are rather rare on the Canadian prairie, whether the foliage be purple, black or red, it's all welcome ... the problem lies in whether the trees prove to be hardy in one's particular location.

In warmer climates, Norway maples have become an invasive species overtaking desirable natives.

Terrance

Thanks, Terrance. It's a bit warmer where we are, but it can still get dry in the summer and cold in the winter. I think we're going with a Royal Red Maple; they seem somewhat hardier.

So the general consensus is Prairie Splendor? That sounds appropos for Nebraska.

The colorful last photo is of 'Prairie Splendor', a seedling of 'Crimson King' found growing in southern Alberta zone 3/4 ... 'Prairie Splendor' might not be available in your region, go with your selected choice of 'Royal Red' ... RR is likely the best of the lot and has colored up very well for me. All varieties should receive a well protected location when planted on the Canadian prairie. Your milder winters will be a breeze for these trees!

Terrance

I'm starting to get scared away form Norway Maples at all. I may be leaning toward a Red Sunset Maple - smaller and prettier in the fall!

DonandLynne, have fun with your search, please let us know what you later have decided upon :)