Red Maple Acer rubrum Fairview Flame

Summer foliage on Fairview Flame is unremarkable, mid green with a pale underside that flickers in a breeze. It is bought for two other things. The first is a strong straight central leader holding an upright oval crown that needs little shaping. The second is autumn colour running orange through to scarlet, more dependable in Australian conditions than seedling grown red maples. That narrow upright habit is what makes it usable in a driveway line, a nature strip or a tight front garden where a spreading maple would not fit.

Soil pH is where this one is won or lost

Part shade and full sun both work, and shelter from hot dry wind pays off, because exposed trees carry brown leaf margins into autumn instead of clean colour. It performs in cool and cold temperate districts, and the display is stronger where autumn nights turn cold. Growth is slow to moderate, so a driveway line planted from small stock takes years to read as a line. Plant in the dormant season so the roots have autumn and winter to settle before the first hot spell arrives. Soil is where people come unstuck. Acer rubrum evolved on moist, slightly acidic ground, and on alkaline or shallow soil it develops interveinal chlorosis, yellowing between the leaf veins while the veins stay green, then scorching at the margins by late summer. That is the failure mode, and it is common on limestone country and in gardens built over builders rubble and old mortar. Test the pH before you plant, improve the profile with compost and elemental sulphur if it reads high, mulch to keep the root zone cool, and water deeply through the hot months.

Narrow and upright, or broad and pyramidal

Fairview Flame is the narrow one. Redpointe builds a broad pyramidal head with wide angled branches and holds colour better than most Acer rubrum on soils with a higher pH, so it is the safer pick where the ground is alkaline or has never been tested. Autumn Blaze is bigger again, colours more evenly across the canopy and needs formative pruning to avoid tight forks splitting later. Choose Fairview Flame when the space is narrow and the tree has to stay upright and tidy without annual attention, and when the soil is acidic or has been properly improved. Across all three, autumn performance depends on the site as much as the selection, and a hot windy position dulls any of them. It is stocked with our other feature trees.

Dormant pruning and correcting chlorosis

Prune in late autumn or winter while the tree is dormant, not in late winter or early spring when the sap is rising and cuts bleed. There is little to do beyond removing dead or damaged wood, keeping one leader, and lifting the lower branches gradually over several seasons if you need clearance beneath. Feed in early spring with a complete slow release fertiliser, and where leaves are yellowing between the veins, add chelated iron and manganese as a soil drench or foliar spray while the underlying soil problem is corrected. Stake only if the site demands it, and remove ties within two seasons.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 5 sizes, from 400mm up to 200L, priced from $249.00 to $1879.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to growing maples in Australian gardens.