Ive seen this plant struggle in upland top of the hill sites, hillsides sloped towards south east to west, and poor soil sites throughout Eden park.From field observations Im thinking it may prefer flat ground or hillsides sloped towards the northwest, north, north east, or east. Ive seen red maples in Eden park of different cultivars try to establish themselves elsewhere, but have died during recent droughts even after being in the ground for over 15 years.Straight species of red maples are adapted to many sites, but prefer bottomland soils, alluvial soils, and even poorly drained soils that are wet in the winter and moist in the summer. My advice is to treat the cultivars as if they were the straight species they were cultivated from. Or at least plant them in an irrigated lawn setting with descent soil depth.IF anyone has seen healthy mature or at least over 25 year old red maples on southeast to west sloped hillsides, please send pictures to sagamboacincinnatistate.edu with the location.