Urban Tree of the Year

In the U.S., we have a perverse penchant to identify the ?EUR??,,????'??best.?EUR??,,????'?? The Academy of Motion Pictures has its Oscar; the national magazines their persons of the year; the car magazines their car/truck/SUV of the year; Consumer Reports has the bests in multiple categories; even Popular Science identifies the top invention or breakthrough of the year; and let?EUR??,,????'???s not forget the derivative ?EUR??,,????'??best,?EUR??,,????'?? Letterman?EUR??,,????'???s Top-10 countdown.

Leave us not, however, slight our friends the trees.

Every year, the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA), via their journal, City Trees, selects the top tree. The competition is held to convey the importance of ?EUR??,,????'??selecting the right tree for the right spot,?EUR??,,????'?? says Leonard Phillips, City Trees editor. He observes, ?EUR??,,????'??Cities often plant too many cheap, common maples and ash that, while grow easily, live an average of only seven years.?EUR??,,????'??

The autumn blaze??????oe maple (Acer x freemanii 'Jeffersred') gets the Oscar for ?EUR??,,????'??Urban Tree of the Year,?EUR??,,????'?? dusting its nearest competition, the Turkish hazelnut, ?EUR??,,????'??prairie spire green ash, and the American hophornbeam, relegating them to best supporting trees, barking at the heels (roots) of the blaze. And like Tom Hanks, this tree is a previous winner, garnering "Tree of the Year" in 1997 from the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association.

The blaze maple is known for its stunning fall colors and rapid growth rate. It has the ?EUR??,,????'??vigor and adaptability of the silver maple with the beauty and strength of the red maple,?EUR??,,????'?? avers the SMA, and grows quite stout (30-40 ft.) and tall (50-60 ft.).

Its flowers are not significant and nearly seedless (not a messy tree, our blaze). The bark is smooth and whitish in its youth, becoming furrowed with dark ridges as it ages.

It?EUR??,,????'???s a hardy tree and gets along with most soils (plays well). The dense foliage of the autumn blaze makes it a great shade tree. It thrives in the warmer climes of the deep south and west, and its uniform shape makes pruning a snap. It has no ?EUR??,,????'??significant insect or disease problems,?EUR??,,????'?? notes the SMA sotto voce, and ?EUR??,,????'??improved resistance to damage from leafhoppers and verticillium wilt.?EUR??,,????'?? Oh, sure, it can suffer from iron chlorosis like the pure silver maple, but cut the tree a break.

Essentially, though, it is the brilliant, long lasting orange-red fall colors that render the blaze so striking and nice on the eyes.

When it comes to popularity contests, good looks never hurt anyone (thing).

The autumn blaze??????oe maple in all its glory.