Purple leaf maples have long been admired for their season long color, nice rounded shape, and ability to grow well in clay soils that are well drained.  Crimson Sunset Maple

is an excellent new purple leafed maple hybrid that offers a slightly smaller size and more upright to oval shape than the well known Crimson King and Royal Red Norway Maples that have been widely planted in the last fifty years.

Crimson Sunset Maple is an interesting hybrid that combines the toughness of Norway maples with the beauty and heat tolerance of Shantung Maples (Acer Truncatum).  Crimson Sunset Maple has done well in field trials at North Dakota State University so it should do well here in southern Minnesota.

If you love purple leafed maples and would enjoy a variety that is a bit smaller and more upright, you may want to try a Crimson Sunset Maple, which matures to a modest size of 30-35 feet tall by 20-25 wide.  This is half the size of most maples, oak, elm and other shade tree varieties.

An added benefit of Crimson Sunset Maple may be better resistance to the feeding activity of Japanese beetles.  Other Shantung Maples hybrids such as Norwegian Sunset and Pacific Sunset have a demonstrated resistance to Japanese Beetles.  With Crimson Sunset Maple, you get the added beauty of purple/maroon leaves from its Norway maple genetics and hopefully the resistance to Japanese beetles of its Shantung Maple parentage.