The Redpointe® Red Maple (Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769) Care Guide


The Redpointe® Red Maple, otherwise known as the Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 or Red Maple, Scarlet Maple, Swamp Maple, Canadian Maple, is a somewhat well known tree plant native to the Southeast, Northeast, and the Southwest of the United States.

Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.

Fortunately, taking care of your Redpointe® Red Maple is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Redpointe® Red Maple Care Guide. Now let’s get started.

The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Redpointe® Red Maple are the following:

  • Water: The Redpointe® Red Maple needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
  • Light: Keep your Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis. 
  • Soil: Make sure to keep the Redpointe® Red Maple in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.

And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Redpointe® Red Maple will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.

Redpointe Red Maple care

Scientific / Botanical Aspects

In botanical terms, the Redpointe® Red Maple belongs to the Sapindaceae family, the genus Acer and the species Rubrum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 (AY-ser RU-brum).

Some of the more popular Sapindaceae plants are Osakazuki Japanese Maple, Aesculus Parviflora, Downy Japanese Maple ‘Aconitifolium’, Acer Griseum, Acer Palmatum ‘Seiryu’, Acer Palmatum, Acer Palmatum ‘Osakazuki’, Fort Mcnair Red Horse Chestnut and Crimson King Norway Maple.

As with other Acer’s, the Redpointe® Red Maple is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.

Growing Region

The Redpointe® Red Maple is a plant native to the Newfoundland to Florida West to Minnesota Oklahoma and Texas.. This is why the Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 is used to growing in specific regions such as the states in Southeast, Northeast, and the Southwest of the United States.

Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Redpointe® Red Maple. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.

With this in mind, the Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 2b, 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, A2, A3.

Growth and Size

Growth

In terms of size and growth, the Redpointe® Red Maple is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.

Size

But, what size of Redpointe® Red Maple are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…

The Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 can grow up to 40′ – 70′ (12m – 21m) in 40′ – 70′ (12m – 21m) and 30′ – 50′ (9m – 15m) in 30′ – 50′ (9m – 15m). 

Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful pyramidal shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.

Water

In terms of watering, the Redpointe® Red Maple is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.

This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.

Specifically, most experts agree that the Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.

Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water. 

Redpointe Red Maple tree

Watering

As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Redpointe® Red Maple in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive. 

When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has occasional flooding, occasionally dry, good drainage, moist, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times. 

However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Redpointe® Red Maple is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.

Soil Mix

As mentioned earlier, the Redpointe® Red Maple prefers to have soil with occasional flooding, occasionally dry, good drainage, moist, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.

This is why most experts agree that the Redpointe® Red Maple requires soil with clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.

In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.

Light and Exposure

In terms of light & exposure, the Redpointe® Red Maple requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions. 

Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.

Specifically, we recommend that you place your Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).

Season

Being a deciduous plant, the Redpointe® Red Maple will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.

But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.

Flowers

You can expect your Redpointe® Red Maple to flower around the winter and in the spring months from January to March (winter) and from April to June (spring).

The Redpointe® Red Maple produces some beautiful red, or red/burgundy flowers around this time of year.

Foliage

The leaves from the Redpointe® Red Maple have a beautiful green color during most of the year.

In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.

You can expect the leaves from your Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 to be around (3-6 inches) in size.

Redpointe Red Maple spike

Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance

The Redpointe® Red Maple is well known for its tolerance to wet soil, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 will be fine.

Garden

How should you then organize your garden to include your new Redpointe® Red Maple? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.

Most Acer Rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ Plant Patent #16,769 owners agree that this tree will look great in most rustic gardens of all types. 

Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in prairie and meadow styles. 

In particular, the Redpointe® Red Maple’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a specimen, wildlife garden, firescaping/fire wise, urban garden, or a woodland garden.

Companion Plants

Redpointe® Red Maple’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Ginkgo, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.

Others consider that a nice Picea pungens will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!

Conclusion

And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Redpointe® Red Maple to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!

Martin Duran

Hey y'all! My name is Martin Duran and I am from Cali, Colombia. Since 2018 I have been learning about plants and how to take care of them. Here's is my journey... “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” ― John Muir

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