As 'Cinnamon Flake' and 'Gingerbread' are hybrids with Acer maximowiczianum (= A. nikoense) I don't think these are particularly outstanding concerning striking bark color. I don't know 'Fireburst' but the sales talk from J. F. Schmidt sounds IMO too good to be true ...

Is there a reason you are not interested in a species paperbark maple, just the straight Acer griseum? The cultivars listed are all hybrids and while they do have flaky, cinnamon colored bark, none of them have the same dramatic bark effect of the straight species, which peels and curls in large, light catching rolls. Bark color is best on A. griseum as well, a rich coppery cinnamon. The hybrids are less intensely colored and IMO, much less dramatic in appearance.

Acer griseum:

Cinnamon Girl:

Gingerbread:

I’ve never understood the purpose of these hybrids. They don’t improve the ornamental qualities of either parent IMO, and cold hardiness is only marginally improved. Perhaps hybrid vigor results in faster growth, but I second going with the species — either one.

im wondering if they can handle a real z5 winter ... some of the foo foo maple stuff cant ... if you dont see them around town.. then that might be a good indication they might not be long lived ...

i think i had the species ... it was a surface roots nightmare... and they had a tendency to sprout ... and though i have 5 acres.. i wasnt really interested in a maple grove ... [what the term im looking for??.. aspens do it???]

ken

I have heard of Aspens suckering badly. Good to know about the surface roots, I was looking at a location 10 feet from my driveway.

Thank you for the pictures. I was looking at the hybrids due to the added hardiness and fast growth rate. I agree the original is breathtaking. We are zone 5b technically and I don’t want to baby another tree/plant through winter.

Acer griseum should be fully hardy to zone 4. They are native to high altitude areas of China that experience some very cold winters. Nothing "foo-foo" about it and with a minimal need for any "babying" if planted properly and at the correct time.

I'm not sure what ken is referring to but IME with any Asian maples is they do NOT produce suckers. They do have a very surface oriented root system, as do the other Asian species. But they are not large trees, rarely ever produce any exposed roots and are easy to underplant. They will not disrupt a driveway.

"Acer griseum should be fully hardy to zone 4."

The key word is to. I'm smack dab in z4 and have grown all four of the trifoliates (griseum, maximowiczianum, triflorum and mandschuricum). Griseum is the least cold hardy of the bunch in my experience, followed by maximowiczianum. The other two are solid z4 trees.

I've lost two griseum to cold, and my Nikko was badly damaged following the winter of 2019, although it has come back surprisingly well. Mandschuricum might be hardy into z3.

I know it’s just a typo but I do like the idea of a paperback maple. I keep hearing it sung by the Beatles in my mind’s ear.

Btw my dad had one in a tiny front garden flower bed. No suckers and underplanted with bulbs and perennials.

Does anyone know where I might find a paperback hybrid to purchase? I live in IL and I’m not finding anything online, only straight paperbark acer griseum.

At this point I think I’d be happy with Cinnamon Girl, Fireburst, or I hear they newly have Copper Rocket. People who have these hybrids, where did you find them?

Copper Rocket and Fireburst are not hybrids. They are just selected forms of the species A. griseum with a somewhat narrower or tighter profile.

You may be a bit late this season to find any of these available retail. But all 3 are available/grown by J. Frank Schmidt and they supply many of the better nurseries across the country. They do not sell retail directly. But now is the time of year when retail nurseries are putting in their orders for next season's stock so might be smart to visit a larger retail garden center in your area and ask if they can bring in one for you. OTOH, the straight Acer griseum, paperbark maple, should be readily available from multiple sources.

Don't worry: "foo foo" is just Ken-speak for "I've never heard of that plant before." 😊

There is a nice planting of Acer griseum in the turnaround of the Midway airport rental car garage. Probably pretty sheltered there.

And no, the species is not hardy in MN zone 4.

I have a young specimen of Acer 'Sugar Flake" which is an A. griseum x A. saccharum hybrid that has survived several very solid zone 5 winters with no dieback. Some nurseries rate this hybrid to zone 4 as well, but I'm not sure how much evidence there is for that, since this cultivar is pretty rare in the nursery trade. Mine isn't yet mature enough to show off the characteristic bark, but I was told by the nursery where I acquired it that it shows more "peeling" than most of the other Paperbark hybrids (but still probably less than the straight species).

foo foo is defined by maackia's experience.. where half of them didnt live.. because they got offended by a few degrees of cold weather ...

otherwsie.. touche... lol ...

ken

btw... how to find them.. find the full latin name... thru google.. including cultivar names if any .....

then add PRICE to the search ...

in the alternative.. go to the local high end nursery.. and have them order in a tree for the proper planting time in spring .... they set their orders in fall and early winter.. for spring delivery .....

ken

The fact the OP is located in a zone 5b or 6 should eliminate any questions about hardiness or other "foo-foo" qualities any of these trees could be considered to possess.

whats the fascination with this type of Acer??

check out this place.. it doesnt matter what you want.. if no one sells it.. so sometimes.. you just need to accept whats available ...

https://www.coniferkingdom.com/our-plants/maples/

you might also try contacting them.. they might know who might sell what you want .....

ken