Young Jap Maples including 2 Seedlings Advice Sought please.6 Pictures
Good day to you Maple Lovers
Here for my Latest Post are a Small Selection of Maples 4 of which I required yet again from the Bargain Basement for 99p,probably around 75 Cents....The other 2 are seedlings.
Your professional advice would be appreciated as always about the best Course of action in helping maintain them.
Hopefully I will acquire enough Knowledge soon so I can start giving out some advice myself....Its coming but I have learnt and respect it takes time....
The first 4 pictures are 2 Butterfly Maples & 2 Little Princess Maples
The Last 2 Maples are 2 Seedlings
I always worry when I see more than 1 stem coming out of the soil on a Maple Example.Would I be right to ?..Any Pruning Advice on the 4 Little Fellas would be very helpful.
The 2 Seedlings have just been put into Pots 2 days ago.I'm a little worried with the Cold weather due.I was unsure what else to do with these Babies so considered and decided on this option.We do get some severe winter weather here in the UK.Temperatures dont get too low but Rainfall can occasionally be of Biblical Proportions.Do these Seedlings need to stay in the open air or would partial shelter be advisable or even a Cold Frame ?
Once again I would like to thank all the Gardenweb Community who have been Patient helped me with my Enquiries over my Japanese Maple Enquiries
Comments (19)
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoRelated Discussions
Question for Al re: japanese maple
Comments (17)I finally got around taking some pics of my cold frame yesterday. Here it goes. The first pic is of the entire structure. It is made using 1 inch electrical conduits and canopy parts. It is covered in regular 4mil plastic. I doubled the plastic for strength for snow loads. It is held to the frame using spring clamps. On the ground they are held by 4x4 pressure treated lumber or garden lumber. It also keeps the plastic taut. The plastic is in 3 pieces - 2 for the ends and one big that wraps the long sides and the top. I take it down every spring and put it back in fall. It takes about half hour for two of us to do that. This has survived 12 years now. The plastic needs to be changed every 3 years or so. Here is a close up of the door/entrance at the peak. You can see the zipper that ends at the top. The entrance plastic is installed first and held to the frame inside using ropes and tarp clips. The top sheet is put last and held to frame using the spring clamps. To protect the plastic I just fold up old plastic pieces several times and then put the clamps. Here is an inside view with the bed of mulch. Most of the plants are quite young less than 4 years old. There are a few older "mother" plants for taking cuttings. A close up of the peak from inside. Hope that was helpful. As Al said light is not needed so a garage or shed is also a perfect place. I use this mainly for baby plants and some that are marginally hardy like Nandina, some varieties of jasmine, etc. Sometimes when I am not sure, I use this as an insurance against killing a potted plant outside. I also use this to double as early start with veges that are sprouted inside the house and then hardened off in the cold frame. Also note that do not bury ceramic or clay pots. They will crack pretty quick. I am way off the topic of this thread....See MorePlum planting and pollination advice.
Comments (21)prairiegal, I too have the bunny blues, I should buy stock in a fencing company! Some hard lessons have been learned along the way in regards to this. But at least the fence method gives one hope. That, along with the plastic spiraled trunk protectant sleeves that are available, and highly recommended for other reasons as well. These silly creatures seem to prefer thorns even. Their winter favorites for me seem to be raspberries and barberries. So did those wascally wabbits do in your peach trees also? Bummer, ifso. Plums are absolutely worth the effort, especially if you have a bit of a sweet tooth. But if the only option one has ever had is via retail grocery outlets, then a person might never really know. If space is a problem for you, possibly consider some dwarf options. I am eyeballing/considering one I found in the Jung Catalogue called 'Black Ice', that also supposedly claims a "about 2 to 4 weeks earlier than other plums" ripening period. So am considering mixing in a few of them as well. They (Jung), also recommend 'Toka' as a pollinator. I , too, am basically considered in the N.W. part of Iowa, with some North Central designation probable in there as well. So yes, some continued dialogue could well be beneficial for the both of us. Cold winds you say? Is yet another stay indoors if at all possible type of day, as I type this. Great "cataloguing" weather indeed! I will attempt to list my email address here on my "My Page", should you want to try me with that. P.S. I am considering doing my own zone upgrade (or should I say downgrade!) to z3, as per the way this winter is going for us---wishing for better days to come.....q3-Mike...See MoreSearch: Hybrid larch seedlings
Comments (23)Tom: I am not familiar with red pine in your area. Here in northern VA red pine is not an option. In Garrett county MD they are planted for pulpwood, but have problems with beetles and annosus root rot disease after 30 years or so, and no one is keeping any to grow for timber. In my pine plantings, a few of my red pine are beginning to die. I have been very careful to treat all the stumps of any I cut to keep annosus out, so I am not sure what the cause of the mortality is. I haven't confirmed anything. I keep the trees thinned out so they are vigorous, and should resist beetle attacks. I see evidence of beetles, but I am not sure if they are primary or secondary contributors to death. So, in the area of my timberland I would not recommend planting red pine. But your area may be different. You already have native white pine, and I love those. If I were starting over at my timberland with plantings, I would do larch Norway spruce, and white pine as the main species. Does your forester have any recommendations about the red pine? Has he talked about any risks? In my pine plantings, the Norway spruce, the white pine, and the red pine do well together. The Norway spruce started a bit slower than the red and white pines, but they got going fast enough so that they grow up with them well. With the red pine, I was afraid they would be outstripped by the white pine and Norway spruce, but that has not been a problem. The Norway spruce and the white pine are growing faster, and will eventually be much taller, but after about 40 years, they are still compatable. Of course, you can plant them in seperate blocks, or mix them. I would do some of both kinds of plantings. One consideration with the red pine--the trees don't assert dominance in a stand very readily, which means they need artificial thinning to maintain a healthy stand. Norway spruce will sort themselves out very, very readily, with the stronger trees overtopping, and eventually supressing the less vigorous trees, so they don't NEED thinning. I thin mine to enhance growth a bit, and make the stand prettier, but after 200 years, unthinned NS stands will be just as fine as stands that were thinned. The same is true of white pine, but in my experience, the best trees don't assert dominance quite as readily. As for larch, I just don't know. My guess is that they will be like white pine or NS in this regard, but I don't know that for a fact. So, my bias here is to plant much more white pine than red pine, but I am sure that red pine, which I assume is native there, is for you a much better bet than for me here. Some say red pine is native to the area of my timberland, but I really don't agree. There IS an outlier of native red pine in one spot in WV, but for me that doesn't qualify it as native to Garrett County MD or other places where a naturally growing one has never been seen. As for your not focusing on planting tamarack, I agree. The native species are not always best. We have native red spruce in Garrett county, but they are far inferior to Norway spruce--no contest. But if you have a very wet area, go with tamarack. They are short lived compared to other larches, but occasionally some have lived well over 200 years. As for NS seed source--boy, this is tough. I wish I could see your seedlings from Itasca. If some of them are growing very, very fast--that's something! You may not be able to do better. But, are some growing very, very much faster than others? Are there a fair number of "runts." If so, that could indicate that some of the seed is coming from trees not cross polinated. Two possible solutions: you can either plant them at tighter spacings to give you more trees, and thus more really fast growing ones. Or you can try to mix in seedlings from another seed source. The Musser may be a good choice, but, what performs well for me here might not do so well there. Also, You should check and see if Musser has made any changes in the seed they use in the last 6 years or so. If so, I know nothing about what they might be offering now. One thing surprized me a bit with my NS here. The finest strain I have seen in the higher elevations in the Appalachians was a stand planted near Glady, WV. I dug up some seedlings and planted them at my timberland. I since dug three of those up again and planted them here in the hot and dry northern Shenandoah Valley. I am stunned by their performance here--all three rank as the best of those I have planted here, with the understanding that most of the 400 or so I have planted here are too small to really evaluate yet. But that that strain does so well in the cool wet mountain environment, AND down here, has surprised me. Unfortunately the stand near Glady was cut three years ago--a real shame! I am not sure what you should make of all I am telling you here, but NS is a remarkable species in its variation and adapability. Well, keep me posed on your plans and progress. Oh, I am becomming more and more an admirer of Thuja! --spruce...See MoreNewbie with a Newbie Maple Sprouting
Comments (15)florauk It might not be a Maple. I could be wrong. I'm not expert. Sun will come up in a bit and I will go over and snap a picture. I didn't get finished shopping before sundown yesterday. About 4 years ago I wanted to start gardening. I looked up the Oklahoma State University Fall planning guide and read through a bunch of information ending up on soil issues including necessary fertilizers. I couldn't afford a stupid $4 bag of fertilizer. Well, that just sucked but I also knew, in the past, that folks didn't use fertilizer. Wondering how they grew successfully without chemical fertilizers I looked up home-made fertilizer. The long story ended with me going completely organic. The short end of that story leads to the, now, 25 lbs of worms constantly pooping out the 2nd best fertilizer on the plant. A fella is coming by in a few days to pick up some worms. I'm selling them, now. Among other issues (I kid you not, now.. serious) is the fact I couldn't buy flappin' rooting hormone. It's cheap! Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to see about making my own. Low and behold, there was willow near by in the creek, the source of rooting hormone and potential aspirin. The hormone worked FABULOUS. I even use it on seedlings, now. When I took the stupid cutting I remembered the city cleared the willow out. By now, I've knowledge of fast-growing tree species in my area. I have tons of "trash" poplar trees outside. (Close your eyes, Ken!) I thought, they grow fast. I wonder if they've the same stuff as willow? I grabbed a fresh poplar twig, stripped the bark off, broke the twig and placed all in water for 24 hours at room temperature. There is your science behind the "amazing feat" aside from the weather we're having which is emulating spring at the wrong time of year. We're actually having a "fall" and it's beautiful but wrong for my part of Oklahoma. Next time you need rooting hormone, go fresh....See Moreprivatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHi Gardengal.
Here are the additional photographs you require so you can ascertain the Young Treelets easier.Removed from Pots and washed off Root Systems.With regards to you mentioning about the Garage or Shed Storage will they be alright constantly in those locations during the Winter months without exposure to the outside elements.(Say 1st Oct through to the end of February).Both the Garage and the Shed have adequate Light Shining in.Will the seedlings that were mentioned on the original Comment need any slight watering or support whilst under cover during the Winter months.Also will the Seedlings need to covered at all in the Shed/Garage or will they be ok left exposed as in the earlier photographs of this post
Thank you
Stephen,Cheshire.UK
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years agoprivatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years ago
houzi
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHi Garden gal,I know what you mean,apart from generic green&red seedlings,I have no luck striking cuttings,though I've not really tried too hard ha.
Interestingly,I've seldom seen the maples considered to be easy(eg Bloodgood)coming in from Holland,many of them are more delicate...infact AP 'Taylor' and 'Marlo' I used to only see in clonal form.
What's their secret?....well the only way most amateur gardeners can obtain the humidity required for success is by putting them in an enclosed space,probably with added heat.Trouble is this tends to encourage fungis.The Holland grow houses are vast and they usually don't just grow maples.They have overhead misting systems a bit like fire sprinklers only finer.This enables them to just apply a little moisture whenever required,probably on a timer for a very short duration.Some of these buildings are several football pitches in size so there is plenty of fresh air in there,not stagnant and hence no fungi....I think that's the secret but could be more?
I do know some people who have kept these going and are very pleased with them.I've only got one left now,a rarely seen 'Seiryu' but they can be difficult when young.Interestingly just this year I've seen larger 6ft clonal maples arriving here,must have a few years under their belt.Hopefully there's a photo of some Orange Dreams and Katsuras below,on their own roots.They weren't cheap but the fresh green stems down to the soil did look nice and they were very full and healthy looking.
Some people who've been into maples since way back before they became popular,say that in Japan they consider them to be much tougher on their own roots and far outlive their grafted counterparts.Also some cultivars are a lot more stable,less likely to revert.
I think we could be missing out on a lot regarding these plants,but it can take a lot of patience and time to achieve success.
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHouzi
Thx yet again for the message
I'm still struggling a little with the timing to Launch the Seed Planting
I do want to Maximise the Chances of some success in the Seeds taking.Hopefully I will have a 1000 Acres worth of "BLOODGOOD" Maple Trees....Only Kidding,aiming for 999.
Well i'm armed with "BLOODGOOD" seeds purchased off the Bay,(see below) a Bag of potting compost and the Perlite...
Been told to let them soak for 24 hours prior to planting into the cells which i'm ready to do.
Will this be the ideal time to do them or do I need to wait longer.(5th September)
You mentioned about waiting longer for the Churchyard Maple Seeds.Do the best and Freshest seeds coincide with the shedding of the trees Leaves.The Green Leafed Maple in the Churchyard looks around 60 years old
houzi
8 years agoWell there's no urgency to put them out right this minute,you can if you like,as long as they're out there come autumn.
Yes,the best&freshest seeds will drop off the tree with the leaves in autumn.Some people choose to pluck them off the tree a bit prior to this for convenience.When the wings start turning brown,they know they are ready.It'll be a few more weeks here before they are ripe.Here's a few of this year's Bloodgood seedlings.As you can see,none of them really resemble the parent at this stage....and perhaps they never will :)
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoprivatejapanesemaplesanctuary
8 years agogardenprincethenetherlandsZ7/8
8 years agoI'm from The Netherlands and live about 20 miles from van Son & Koot. They are one of the leading Japanese maple propagators over here. An innovative company with a good reputation. It propagates many of its Japanese maples through cuttings as this is much cheaper than grafting (labour is expensive over here). How they exactly propagate JM from cuttings I do not know but my guess is that a misting system, additional bottom heat and a rooting hormone are required.
I've seen Acer palmatum Atropurpureum, Katsura and Wilson's Pink Dwarf from cuttings and they do very well. In one season they grew from 1 foot to 3 to 4 feet with very good branching.
Propagation of Japanese Maples Through Seed-- collect fresh seed in the fall as samara's go from green to brown
-- I prefer sowing JM outside for natural stratification and not via the artificial method (putting seeds with slightly moist sowing compost in a zip lock bag in the fridge) as I experienced seeds germinating in January/February in the zip lock bag in the fridge and having trouble growing them on.
-- cover the sowing with grit to prevent weeds and mosses like liverwort. Cover the pot with chicken wire or something like it to prevent animals or birds from having a go at your seeds (mice like JM seeds).
-- Put outside in a somewhat protected spot but where the weather elements can reach it (probably incorrect English but I hope you understand what I mean!)
-- Just wait.
-- More waiting ...
-- In (early) spring with rising temperatures a big amounts of the seeds will germinate. Don't expect that all the seeds will germinate because this does not happen in nature either. Some seeds will germinate in the second year after sowing. If you got 'old' seeds (i.e. not from the current season) more seeds will germinate in their second year than in the first year (but you can be lucky of course)
This is one I did earlier:
Japanese maple seeds that started to germinate in the zip lock bag in the fridge:
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary thanked gardenprincethenetherlandsZ7/8
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)