Thank you both so much! Greenman28: Now you mention "Gritty mix or 5-1-1"...what are those? Are they a description for mixes you (or I) would have to mix ourselves by buying the ingredients separately? Or is that something pre-bagged i can buy? Gardengal48: THANK YOU! If it was me searching/buying the ingredients I would have no issue at all buying them and mixing my own mix, but because in my current circumstance i am relying on a family member to buy the mix for me, it is fantastic to hear about a bagged mix! So its http://www.kellogggarden.com/products?brand=gardnerbloome&category=gardnerbloome-soils#5 or http://greenhousegardencenter.com/Master Nursery Catalog.htm (scrolled half way down "Acid Planting Mix") ? I hope my local nursery (Sky Nursery) carries one of those cause that would make it so much easier! Now when you use that, what do you use for a mulch on-top of the soil? Also is this perfect to use when germinating seeds? Because remember i am not only needing to re-pot my trees into 1gal pots, but i am going to be growing JM from seed and so i'll need soil for that as well, so if i can use that for seeds as well that is fantastic. (I thought manure wasn't recommended for JPN MPL's? I read the specs for the Acid Planting Mix and it says it has: chicken manure, and bat guano) Just called Sky-Nursery, they said they used to use Gardener & Bloome but found it too rich so they now carry and use EB-Stone mixes and for my use they recommended: http://www.ebstone.org/13_azalea.php Any thoughts? (Here's whats in EB-Stone Azalea Mix: Contains: Composted Fir Bark, Sphagnum Peat Moss, Redwood Compost, Mushroom Compost, Volcanic Pumice Stone, Earthworm Castings, Bat Guano, Kelp Meal, Feather Meal and Gypsum) Here's what i got so far: 1) Potting mix: EB-Stone Azalea Mix 2) I'm thinking this mulch for 1" bottom of container: http://www.lowes.com/pd_109329-1802-CARY30P_0__?productId=3156693#BVRRWidgetID And this mulch for top 1" of container: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Terrace-Mulch-4-qt-Terrace-Mulch-Cypress-Mulch-Resealable-Bag-MULCH3359CYP/203920301#.UbvAw9jNkSo Feel free to give your opinion on if that's good or not good, if you know of a different type that's way better. (The idea being a shredded mulch for the bottom of the container to help with drainage and a bigger chip-style mulch for the top layer to provide heat/moisture insulation/retention and good aeration) This post was edited by M3rc_Nate on Fri, Jun 14, 13 at 21:49

Yes, the Tatarian maple can be rooted, which is done the same as with any other tree or shrub. Just be sure to take semi-hard wood cuttings at the appropriate time of the year (in spring after the new growth hardens off). If you are unfamiliar with rooting cuttings and are new to it though, I would recommend gaining experience by using other material before attempting any maple, as maples are on the harder side to do as cuttings as far as success rate. You can find many extensive guides through an online search on what methods work best if you are brand new to propagating this way. On another note, I always recommend air layering or grafting over cuttings when concerning Maple propagation (especially japanese cultivars). Its not only a sure way of cloning the tree but you get older more desirable stock quicker.

Now 77 years old and now diabetic 2 (but I can eat fruit and I do have a lot of fruit). Waiting 2 more weeks before I start indoor grow light seeds, winter sowing seeds, salad seeds in heated mini greenhouse. Replaced mini greenhouse by myself and covered edges with many rolls of UV film. Sprayed chairs and ornaments with UV spray. Sprayed rusting items like dog pen for blueberries and metal ornaments with WD40. Chairs must have 2-3 bricks on them to keep them from blowing down in the wind. Laid black plastic film to replace so called landscape fabric that loves weeds. Poly film and clover are great aides to prevent weeds. I have a giant leaf blower and shredder that is now hard to lift - so I got a light weight leaf blower and blew away most of the oak leaves and nuts near the back of the house and the wind moved more for me. In spring my ex son in law will trim the too tall again so-called dwarf apricot and plum trees for me with my new electric chain pole saw. The peaches, nectarines, and mini apples are short enough. I have watering lines for sprayers and emitters and use timers. I laid out a hose line with switches from the center sprinkler so I could hand water if needed (2 times so far after water lines drained for winter) and to spray the fruit trees - now both are super easy jobs. It now takes less than 5 minutes to spray the 14 fruit trees using a hand sprayer (wonderful invention) - hah!. I also have a mister in case I overheat in the summer. I will have to prune the brambles and remove dead food crops from tubs later - but that is easy with a hand pruner. I have large trash cans with drainage slits placed at every end of the back yard for yard and garden debris until they either compost or go into the trash. Planting food crops in tubs is so easy and so is picking them. Back yard getting really gorgeous all year long. Have colored chairs, colored tubs, colored and white solar lights (getting more this week), colored and green foliage (dwarf conifers, some evergreen sedums, strawberries/blueberries/brambles turning color - earlier EAC was vivid red). I have solar and non-solar ornaments with more coming this week. I even recently added fake flowers for some tubs - crazy but it looks good this winter. Front yard dwarf japanese maples and azaleas turning color. The 2 giant oaks dropped their nuts and leaves again but not as bad as in previous years. The city just added a sidewalk so that is less area to take care off. In spring I will have lots of bulbs and flowering bushes and trees. In summer I will have food crops and flowers. In fall I will have food crops, flowers, and fall foliage. In winter dwarf conifers, sedums, and food crops in the GH. Life is good and gardening is now super easy. I find it hard to believe what I used to do when i was in my 20s - like try to garden in clay in the country and carry water from a creek a long distance away.

Really no more tricky to germinate than Acer palmatum.....the issue is most of the seed is empty/sterile/or otherwise non-viable. Typically a 20% viability rate is quoted and I doubt whether cross pollination really ups the odds much at all. A local mature paperbark (50+ years) is a prodigeous seed producer - the samaras literally cover the ground under it at this time of year - but only around a half dozen actually germinate on their own and the owner hasn't had much better results when handling them directly From Dirr's guide to propagation: Cold stratify seed for 90 days, split the fruit wall, extract the embryos and plant them in a vermiculite-peat mix.