I have both Crimson Queen and Garnet in my yard. They are both nice trees, but Crimson Queen keeps its red color much better than Garnet. My Crimson Queen keeps it red color all summer long, while my Garnet is already starting to fade from red to green. Garnet is a brighter shade of red while it lasts, however. Both maples stand up well to the heat. My Crimson Queen is planted on a SW exposure, although shaded by trees on the mid to late afternoon. One advantage to Garnet is that it's fast growing for a red dissectum. My has put on about 12" of new growth each of the past two years. BTW, I live in NC, where the summers are hotter and longer than NJ.