All About Red Maple Trees and Where to Plant Them

All About Red Maple Trees and Where to Plant Them Red maple is the state tree of Rhode Island and its Autumn Blaze cultivar was selected 2003 Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists. Red maple is one of the first trees to show off red flowers in the spring and displays a most magnificent scarlet fall color. Red maple is a fast grower without the bad habits of fast growers. It quickly makes shade without the compromise of becoming brittle and messy. The most endearing ornamental characteristic of red maple is fall color including red, orange, or yellow which  sometimes on the same tree. The color display is long lasting over several weeks and often one of the first trees to color up in autumn. This maple puts on one of the most brilliant displays of any tree in the landscape with a great variety of  fall colors with variable intensities. Nursery developed cultivars are more consistently colored. Habit and Range Red maple transplants easily at any age, has an oval shape and is a fast grower with strong wood and grows into a medium-large tree of about 40 to 70. The red maple occupies one of the largest eastern north-south ranges in North America- from Canada to the tip of Florida. The tree is very tolerant and grows in nearly any condition. These trees are often much shorter in the southern part of its range unless growing next to a stream or on a wet site. This maple tree is far superior to its Acer cousins silver maple and boxelder and just as fast growing. Still, when planting the species  Acer rubrum, you would benefit by  selecting only varieties which have been grown from seed sources in your area and this maple may not do well in the southernmost USDA Plant Zone 9. The beginning of  leaf buds, red flowers, and unfolding fruits indicate that spring has arrived. The seeds of red maple are quite popular with squirrels and birds. This tree can sometimes be  confused with red-leaved cultivars of Norway maple. Strong Cultivars Here are some of the best cultivars of  red maple: Armstrong: Grows in all 50 states, has attractive silver-gray bark, columnar  in shape, spectacular  red to orange to yellow leaf color.Bowhall:  Grows in all 50 states,  somewhat pyramidal shape, very similar to Norway maple, red to orange to yellow leaf display.Autumn Blaze: Plant zones 4-8, hybrid of silver maple and red maple. Identification of Red Maple The leaves: deciduous, opposite, long-petioled, blades 6-10 cm long and usually about as wide, with 3 shallow short-pointed lobes, sometimes with two smaller lobes near the base, dull green and smooth above, lighter green or silvery beneath and more or less hairy. The flowers: pink to dark red, about 3 mm long, the male flowers are fascicled and the female flowers are in drooping racemes. The flowers are functionally male or female, and individual trees may be all male or all female or some trees may have both types, each type on a separate branch (the species technically polygamodioecious), or the flowers may be functionally bisexual. Fruits: winged nutlets (samaras) in a pair, 2-2.5 cm long, clustered on long stalks, red to red-brown. The common name is in reference to the red twigs, buds, flowers, and fall leaves.   From the  USDA/NRCS Plant Guide Expert Comments It is a tree for all seasons that develops into an attractive yard specimen under a great range of soil and climatic conditions. -Guy Sternberg, Native Trees for North American LandscapesThe red, red maple. Native to the wet soils of Americas eastern half, it has become one of the Nations favorite- if not the hardiest- street trees. -Arthur Plotnik, The Urban Tree BookReddish flowers appear in early spring and are followed by red fruit. The smooth gray bark is quite attractive, particularly on young plants. -Michael Dirr, Dirrs Hardy Trees and Shrubs P

6 Job Search Trends Every Job Seeker Should Know

6 Job Search Trends Every Job Seeker Should Know We’re a â€Å"what’s next?† kind of society, and that means that everything has trends- from what we wear to which social media platform just became uncool after everyone’s grandparents signed up. This applies to the job hunt, too. Some things about looking for a job are pretty evergreen- like using active verbs in your resume and dressing in your professional best for an interview- there are trends that could give you an edge. Before you convert your resume to an all-Vine format, consider these less-extreme options for joining the 2016 race.1. Emphasize skills over school.A degree is always going to be a great asset in your application package, but your resume should focus on your hard skills and experience over the school name. The educational landscape is getting more diverse all the time, with online degrees becoming more common, so brand-name schools may be less important than the overall package.2. Find your career community.Not so long ago, general job sites like Monster were all the rage, as one could find all sorts of jobs from pretty much any field. This year, try looking for communities and sites specific to your area, and take advantage of their forums, articles, and meetups to network in your own field. When you’re looking for jobs, try thinking specialized instead of general, and see what you can find.3. Be mobile.If you’re reading this on your phone, this one might not be the advice for you- you’re probably already plugged in. But if you’re still limiting your job search to sites you find on your computer, try using mobile job apps and search tools on your phone or tablet to find opportunities that might not be living in a standard web browser.4. Consider a career jump to a hot industry.In 2016, areas like healthcare (especially healthcare technology), mobile marketing and analytics, and other tech fields are growing at an incredible pace. If you’re looking for a change of pace, take a close look at jobs in those industries that might dovetail with skills you already have.5. Be flexible about work environment.This does not mean you should chase those internet ads that promise you’ll earn $80,000 a month working from home, like my sister’s cousin’s best friend’s cat. However, many companies do offer flexible work arrangements, since so many tasks and meetings can be handled easily via communications tech. A job opportunity in another state might have been a non-starter before, but these days you should take a closer look and see if you actually can live here, but work there.6. Just be flexible.It’s not just the geographic boundaries that are stretching. With companies finding new ways to meet economic challenges, you could find opportunities outside of the 9-to-5 template. That may be freelance openings that help you build relationships, or part-time jobs that help you build experience. Everything is customizable now, and why sh ould your career be any different? If you’re open to change and different ways of doing things, you may discover opportunities you didn’t notice before.2016 could be a great year. If you know which areas where you can jump on the trends and find a way to make them work for you and your professional goals, it could be a year of great changes as well.