Hello: I have been trying to locate a FLAME AMUR Maple or an OCTOBER GLORY RED Maple for purchase (central Vancouver Island) but have not had success on-line. I have narrowed my choices to trees that will not interfere with overhead lines. Does anyone have a lead? ( tried online listings in Victoria). Thank you
My experience with 'Flame' isn't positive. The autumn colors are poor here in Normandie. It has become increasingly hard to get, perhaps because it's not very good! 'October Glory' is a fine maple and should be easily available in the trade, though you may have to go a bit further afield, and have a smaller specimen shipped to you. Good luck, maybe someone local can suggest a supplier.
Thank you Emery for your experience: I appreciate it. BTW: if you know...is it possible to tap October Glory for maple syrup.(I do not want to plant a Canadian Giant Maple etc. as I do not have the room or patience to wait for it to grow: my husband teases me saying that by the time it is ready for tapping we will be part of the compost!)
You're welcome. You can tap it, but it won't have as much sap (or sugar content) as a sugar maple. They aren't usually used for sugaring for this reason. And you do need a strong day/night temperature differential to get a good crop. If you have any mature birches, they tap well and produce a lot of sap. It's not as sugar-rich as maple, but with sufficient reduction you can make a nice syrup. Folks around here like to drink it as a revitalizing potion, straight from the tree; though I don't find it has a lot of flavor, it's nice.
Very good info again: I am planning on also planting a few birches towards the back for winter interest, so this is encouraging. (I see you are based in Normandie (Normandy?): my husband's heritage reaches back to that area; it has been on our bucket list to be able to go over one day) Thank you again Emery.
Glad to help. Yes, I prefer to use the French spelling, since after all I live here. There are many Canadians that came from Basse Normandie, in the Perche quite near here. There is a museum of Canadian Emigration (I think it's called) not far away, in Tourouvre. I just looked and they actually list the names, maybe your husband's ancestors are there! Les 326 Emigrants Percherons
Thank you for the link: I will forward it to him. (du Morin) originally: we hv an airbnb and had the joy of welcoming a family from that area who helped him clarify some old hand-written documents. We narrowed the emmigration down to circa 1735. It would be lovely to be able to find a maple tree to plant here that would reflect back to the 'home country'. n'est-ce pas? it is funny...talking about trees leads to a family tree.
June 2022: I ended up planting OCTOBER GLORY RED Maple and 'she' is settling in beautifully; let's see what the summer heat brings.
Thanks for the update. Great choice. Don't forget to water during this first summer; they're quite thirsty and are difficult to over-water. Cheers!
Greetings Emery: yes I will thank you: given the deluge of rain and our elongated cloudy spring...it is hard to imagine it ever getting hot again! lol
