This tree that delivers glorious red color has its roots in Fort Worth

My story is going to be about “Fire Dragon” maples, specifically one at the end of our driveway and how it has totally won my heart in the past eight days. We have never had more glorious red fall color in any of our landscape plants here in Texas!

But the story is going to drift back into its lineage. It’s from the side of the maple clan known as the Shantung group, Acer truncatum. It’s from northern China, and resources I’ve checked say that its native home is somewhat akin to what we have here in Texas. That’s always a good start. It’s going to be perfectly adapted.

Moreover, the world-respected Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis lists Shantung maple as a “Plant of Merit” on their website. That’s a stellar endorsement.

And perhaps even more critical to gardeners locally, our heroes, the horticulturists at Texas A&M, after 12 years of testing the species at a variety of locations across the state, designated Shantung maple as a Texas Superstar plant in 2001. My friend Steve George of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service said, “Shantung maple gives much the same look as a large-leafed Japanese maple, but it will grow in full, hot sun, highly alkaline soil, and is drought- and cold-tolerant.”

But enough of this talk about Mama. Let’s talk about “Fire Dragon,” her unbelievably beautiful baby. I spoke with another Steve, one of the veteran sales representatives at Metro Maples, 4890 Dick Price Road in southeast Fort Worth. That’s where the nursery’s original owner Keith Johansson (now retired) found and named “Fire Dragon” as a chance mutation in a group of seedlings of Shantung maples in 1999.

The original tree is still growing at the nursery. Now approaching 30 feet tall, it can be seen by their koi pond. Steve has worked at the nursery for 12 years, and he says that the mother “Fire Dragon” has reliably turned brilliant red every fall, only occasionally marked with a few splashes of yellow at the front end of the fall color season.

“Fire Dragon,” like Shantung maple, can be grown in any North Texas soil, even our alkaline black clay. Steve says his only concern is for sites with poor drainage. In those locations it should be “planted high,” meaning elevated slightly above the surrounding grade. If you’re able to construct a berm 4 or 5 inches above the surrounding terrain to ensure good drainage, and if you can do so without it looking like some type of unnatural mound, that would be ideal.

Water your new Shantung or “Fire Dragon” maple a couple of times each week from mid-spring through mid-fall, less often during the cooler months. You cannot count on turf irrigation, sprinklers, or standard drip irrigation to supply adequate water. While you don’t want them to stay soggy, you will get faster growth if you keep your “Fire Dragons” properly hydrated.

Fertilize your new maple with a high-nitrogen lawn food, preferably one with 30% to 40% of the nitrogen in slow-release form. Apply the fertilizer in spring as it’s leafing out, again in late May and again in early September. Follow each feeding with a deep soaking.

How will Shantung and ‘Fire Dragon’ compare to red maples and Japanese maples?

Red maples and Japanese maples outsell the various Shantung maples in North Texas nurseries many times over. And that’s OK, because they’re nice trees, too. But here are my observations having grown all three categories and having taken hundreds of questions about all of them over the years.

Red maples struggle more with our soils, especially those that are shallow and highly alkaline. They’re also very susceptible to bark damage due to sun scald when they’re young and just getting started. You must protect their trunks with paper tree wrap for the first two or three years. (That would also apply to Shantung and “Fire Dragons.”)

Japanese maples, in all their many varieties, must have protection from the sun in the summer. They are, here in Texas, understory trees that should be grown beneath tall shade trees or on the true north sides of tall houses where afternoon sun will never be able to scorch their foliage. “Fire Dragon,” by comparison, gives much the same look as a tall type of Japanese maple but it’s totally tolerant of full sunlight.

I’ll finish with a warning: Supplies of “Fire Dragon” are very limited. It is a patented selection with rights still owned by Metro Maples. It is sold only as grafted trees, and supplies diminish quickly when fall color shows up. Steve told me they had a short supply a few days before press time, but they will have more as their trees bud out in the spring. They may be able to refer you to another source or two. Check their website (https://www.metromaples.com) for more information and for their hours of operation. Call or set up an appointment before you go.

This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 5:50 AM.