I don't do mail order because I want to see the tree in person before I select to make sure the size, form, habit and graft location (if any) and condition is what I want it to be. So I have no suggestions for you :-) But make sure you are comparing apples to apples.......once you factor in size (mail order typically smaller than local retail) and shipping costs and the intangibles like customer service or warranties, local retail is often the better buy.

For the natives, my state department of trees (forestry, natural resources, whatever they call it) will sell you a bundly ridiculously cheap. I bet Tennessee has similar.

For Japanese Maples I like old Forest Farm. There seem to be cheaper and fancier places. Forest Farm also seems to be aging a bit and getting interested in botabical gardens, but why update websites and stuff mich when it works I suppose. Remember what the industry calls full sun tolerant means full sun on the shady side of a mountain on the pacific coast, not the Midwest.

Japanese maples are a bit of an obsession with me. I have grown and sold them for years in a nursery setting and have a reasonable collection of my own. There are scores of Japanese maple specialty nurseries around, many, if not most, of which do mail order as well. If you choose the mail order route, I would try to locate one somewhat proximate to your location as they often will feature or carry cultivars that will do best in that area. And some are very full sun tolerant!! Metro Maples in Ft. Worth, TX has an assortment of hot weather, full sun tolerant JM's available, although they do not necessarily encourage a full sun planting site :-)

btw, Davidsan's Maples is just one specialty nursery that a lot of JM collectors patronize heavily. Very wide selection and a range of sizes. And excellent customer reviews.

I don't recall anyone bringng this up but I see David Myers passed away a couple years ago.

Sad to see many of the greats moving on to the better life.

Glad to see Gale is keeping the nursery going.