I am a collector of Japanese Maples. I now have 12 different varieties. I am in zone 5, and have never lost one yet. I have been collecting for 6 years. This spring I purchase a Peaches and Cream on Ebay. My favorite seller is Mapletopia. I have never had a problem with them. I have had problems with other sellers so I stick with Mapletopia. I have it planted in morning sun and afternoon shade. I am excited to see what the results will bring to my garden. If you are looking for a tree that is a brilliant orange in fall, the Orange Flame is the right tree for you. I have one paired with a Grandma Ghost which is a bright yellow most of the growing season. The Orange flame is a bronze in the spring and becomes green and bronze as summer progresses. It is the most on fire orange you could ever imagine in the fall. My Grandma Ghost is now 4 years old and my Orange Flame is only 2 years old. My photo shows Orange Flame in the Bronze (springtime) stage. It is located at he bottom left in the photo. Grandma Ghost shows brilliantly to the upper right of Orange Flame. I have added in the Purple leaf Sand Cherry bushes for more contrast and texture. Hostas and Sedum also share the garden. (Sorry, I rotated the photo in my gallery, but it still posted on it's side)

Since the seedling is dormant and the wood, do the work. Throw it in the garage (I assume you don't have a greenhouse) - and come spring see if it took. Ideally, your scion, should be grafted to a seedling (only in winter) when the scion is dormant but the seedling is actively growing. A quick side or veneer graft (same thing) is the easiest. Never go past 25% of the seedlings bark. Make your cut on the seedling a bit longer than the pre-cut work on the scion. Make an identitical width cut on the understock as is your scions diameter. Again your scion cuts should never go past 25% of what's under the bark. Only use hardwood for both understock and scion. Use a rubber band. Since you don't have a greenhouse - just toss the graft into the garage and hope for the best. This method is called "cold grafting." It doesn't yield good results but you may get lucky espcecially considering you did the carpentry right. Look at these two links. Dax Coenosium Gardens Grafting The Japanese Maple

Melissa, The rose looks fantastic, and a couple blooms coming even! It will only get better looking every year : ) Please post when the blooms open. The irises look great too. Alana, Your irises and clematis look wonderful. Diene, Glad spring made it up your way : ) I love those double daffodils. Sassy, I need to divert over your way on the drive back from my dad's! It looks lovely and peaceful. Becky, I know what you mean about certain things just don't come out well on camera as in real life like my lilac, but I think the Claudia tulip does look great. Tracy, I love that phlox and your rock garden. Mariann, Tiarella is one of my favorites. That's a great start for a new shade garden. April, That is a pretty clematis what ever the name may be. I don't think it really matters, I've never met a clematis I didn't like : ) Marie, Lucky you with the amaryllis. They've never done that for me. My Virginia Bluebells are blooming. And here's an odd one I planted last fall, Fritillaria persicaria. Happy Mother's Day Everyone, Remy

Well I use seed trays with about 60 1" or so cells in their insert but if you don't have many you could choose different inserts or even sow straight into 9or11cm containers which wouldn't need repotting for a couple of years.I prefer cell trays because you can easily push the seedlings out from below and also you never know how many failures you'll have so less wastage than bigger pots.Sometimes the seed trays don't have drainage holes in the bottom so you may have to poke a few in. With the cells I just used chopped bark but compost and plenty of perlite will do just as well....don't use grit as you'll rip the roots off when transplanting at such young age. No need to water,just let nature do it's stuff 'til next spring. Stick the seeds into the soil with their little wings pointing up like flags,helps you remember which ones you've done.soil just covering the seed itself. Sorry can't suggest suppliers,only bought once before off ebay but were just generic plain green palmatums. I've sown my own Bloodgood seeds too this year,last time I looked I reckon less than 50% are red ha ha.