'Jack-o-Lantern' is said to be hardy to Zone 3.

Thanks but I have one already coming from my nursery and they said it’s performed well in zone 3. Its not a cultivar. Just a hardy seed source but they haven’t tried it for very long. Just curious of other reports from people.

Do you have one? like them?

I have one that has gotten maybe 12' tall in a few years but I'm in USDA 8.

you need to tell us where you are... if you want good answers.. big city name good enough ...

its a good sign a quality local nursery sells them ... i presume they gave you a warranty???

ken

I am a landscaper so my nursery sells to me wholesale and i trial some stuff for cheap when they have new things. Edmonton is the closest city but they are zone 4a and I’m colder because I’m in a small town a two hour drive away. Typical cold continental climate and warm summer. Very similar to the climate they come from which is northern China. In fact, I looked at Harbin and their winters are far colder on average from dec to feb but the seed source would have to be from there and not way further south.

The U of Minnesota Landscape Arb has/had a mature specimen in their maple collection. I’ve got one here, which was moved under the most difficult of circumstances about ten years ago. It was a brutal move and though still alive, it has struggled since. I sometimes think it is on the mend, but if I could do it all over, I would not have moved it.

A. triflorum is hardy through z4, but it’s not a tree for exposed sites. It likes the company of other trees.

I’m planting it in the front yard where it gets zero north winds in the winter and a little bit of east wind which Is normally only the less cold ones. It will be very protected.

What does msp stand for? Unless you’re in Minnesota or North Dakota, I will be much colder than you but you are right about late growth. Autumn blaze maples can be a nightmare out my way because they grow upto a foot in October when there is really warm weather and can lose their new growth from early low temps below freezing.

I had a Katsura for three years and it handled winter like a champ but couldn’t change color in time, always burnt its leaves off and had barely any frost tolerance.

took me an extra cup of coffee.. to figure out what MSP is ... i think???

ken

Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN. It's the airport code if you ever need to fly here.

Ohhh! Ok. That makes a lot of sense then. You guys are warmer than me but at least you still get very cold so it’s a decent judge of what I’ll see.

Is that your tree? Is fall color always the same? And does the bark peel like a griseum?

Two more questions. Ever seen Acer Truncatum around? I had a hybrid called crimson sunset that did fine through very cold winters but had bad soil and didn’t grow much and this year really ate it with our super cold sunny days that frost cracked his bark. I still have him but he’s a shadow of his previous self. I would like an original truncatum. They almost look like sweet gum and I know there is no way I’ll ever grow one of those.

Last question. Do you know any sycamore in your city and would you send me seeds if I gave you some money for your trouble? I am dying to find a hardy seed source and north Dakota state university I believe, made a zone 3a version but they haven’t given it to any Canadian nurseries so I can’t buy it.

thanks!

That is not my tree in the picture, just one of the larger ones I know of around town. It goes that nice orange every year. The bark does not peel as nicely as A. griseum.

A. truncatum are marginal around here. I think the U of MN arboretum does have some survivors on the property. The hybrids with platanoides generally do better here but can still be a bit marginal as well.

Sycamores are scarce around here. I've never looked close enough to see if they produce seed.

Interesting. Again, the truncatum is native to northern China but their all time lows in winter aren’t as bad as ours so that might be the kicker. But also, who knows where people are bringing in seed from.

I shouldn’t really care about peeling bark though. Paper birch and Amur cherry both accomplish that. In fact, the griseum bark looks identical to Amur cherry.