Buying Maple trees...what to look for?

[Idahomom]

So I am looking to plant some maples in our yard. What do I look for at the nursery as far as buying a healthy maple (sugar & red)? They are stocked so close together and at 8-10 ft tall it's hard to get an idea what I'm looking for!
Thanks for your help!

 

[rockyroad]

The only thing I know to look for is that the trees are not pot bound with roots tightly packed together, going round and round, ot hanging out the bottom of the pot.

Also, my experience with baby trees is that the smaller transplants grow faster. I planted one gallon and five gallon.
The one gallon caught up with the five gallon plants in about four to five years. The one gallon outgrew the others for several years and now after 20 years, they are all about the same size.

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Lots of people advise to look for straight trunks too. I bought 3 beautiful "Autumn Flame" maples, one with a completely leaning trunk (like midway between 90 and 45 degrees!). The tree was healthy and looked great, and besides, the lean gave it personality! Two years later, all three are beautiful (and just gorgeous in the fall), and the leaning one was planted outside of my kitchen window so that it makes me smile everyday.

At the nursery, take ones that you like out of the group and set it in the main aisle so that you can get a good look at it, or have a garden worker pull several of them out for you. Make sure the trunk isn't spindly at the bottom. Usually, a reputable nursery with experienced workers will be able to point out a couple that will be a good choice. Now if it's a big, superstore, pull them out yourself and give them the once over. Skip the ones with roots coming out of the bottom.

Good luck and tell us how it goes!