Red Maple is native to the eastern half of North America. It makes for a beautiful shade tree all season long with vivid red flowers in spring, solid green leaves through the summer and brilliant crimson foliage in the fall. Trees average between 15-20 m in height when mature. Red Maple is a very site tolerant tree growing in almost any situation from dry sloped sites to flat lands with continually wet bog-like conditions. Due to this tolerance for a wide range of growing conditions, some sources consider Red Maple the most common tree in North America. For many native and perennial plants, late fall is the best time to sow seed directly outside. Why you ask? Simply put, many of these plants produce seed that is viable but dormant. This means allowing seeds to naturally stratify over window will “wake up” the dormant seed for best results.