skip to main content

Can I merge/graft Japanese Maple seedlings to create a multi trunk?

7 years ago

I've recently become obsessed with researching, planting and growing interesting trees and shrubs after moving to a large wooded lot for the foreseeable future.
I have about 15 bloodgood Japanese maple seedlings that are still tiny - about a foot each. I'm curious to know if I could merge a few of them into a multi-trunk tree.
I've researched a bit on the topic but I'm having trouble finding any definitive answers (these damn bonsai enthusiasts have overtaken the internet!).
Will this kill the seedlings?
Are they too young to do that to them now?
When would be an appropriate time to graft them?
Is it even possible?
How might one go about merging a few trunks together?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

houzi

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

That's a good question.There looks to be at least a foot of mounded earth around this tree so are they seperate or do they join below?
This is all I was trying to emphasise,you can see those stems when young were at least a foot apart,you'd have considered them as branches on the average 1gal tree so you need to be careful not to overdo inducing multi branches.....nice pic :)
BTW what's that method used where you lay a young seedling horizontally in the dirt and the branches that appear become stems?..oops sorry, I think we could be heading into Bonsai territory ha.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
7 years ago
You may have to define your goal in merging. Do you mean PLEACHING?

tj
houzi
7 years ago
Personally I don't think grafting is necessary.I don't believe there is any JM,even Bloodgood that won't become a multi stemmed plant.All the ones you see around you are probably traditional tree shaped but will have had considerable 'interference' from the grower to achieve this.
Yes it's possible to increase the stems,though I think it may be too late in the season to get much response now.If you were to keep the plant really small,come spring before it leafs out you could prune back to where you want the first division then as soon as the 2pairs of new leaves appear,pinch out the tiny growing tip between them.This will then double the branches and repeat and so on.Alternatively I have a seedling which I stuck in a window box.Each spring I cut back to the first pair of buds on each branch/stem,and it doubles each year. but grows profusely in between.Now it has about 16 stems/branches.
Now you have to remember that(especially with Bloodgood)all these stems will eventually get several inches thick.Although it may look quite open with well seperated stems when small,you can imagine if I were ever to put this plant in ground and leave to it's own dedvices,16 stems all trying to get several inches thick within 1ft from the ground is going to result in not only a structually unsound tree but also the middle of the tree will probably die off as it gets impossible for the plant to keep these stems 'piped up'.
If you're gonna keep it small then by all means play around.However if it's to go in the landscape I think even Bloodgood will produce more stems than is desirable if left to it's own devices.You have to remember this plant will get quite big in every dimension.
Related Discussions
Divide a Multi Trunk Potted 'Pink Icicle '
Q
Comments (6)
I have just read your question and the responses. I have a few suggestions to help your camellias survive the winter. 1.jared_sc was partially correct about the soil mixture. Your mixture will retain far too much water - the Miracle Grow is bad enough without adding 50% peat moss. A proper camellia mixture retains some water but drains rapidly and does not become waterlogged. Yesterday I mixed up a big batch of soil to pot some of my camellias. I use approximately equal amounts of ground up pine lanscaping mix or ground pine bark; sand; top soil or compost (commercially bagged is ok); and milled peat moss. I mix in approximately 1/2 individual amount of perlite. Keep your mix bagged so that it does not dry out. 2. Your original plant was in a 3 gallon pot. The 4 plants should have been put in 1 gallon plants. Too much soil in too big a pot combined with a small plant with damaged roots = plant death. The soil will retain water too long and become waterlogged. This will cause the roots to rot. 3.You did not mention how tall the individual plants are, but in all probability their leaves are too much for the damaged roots. 1/3 to 1/2 of the branches and leaves should be cut off to balance the roots. The plants will establish much faster than they would now, if they live. If this seems too extreme, you can cut most of the leaves in 1/2 with scissors. You must limit the amount of moisture released by the leaves. The plants will produce new leaves next year and drop most of these. 4.Unfortunately non-droping green leaves on camellia plants in the winter is not an indication that they are doing well or even alive. Camellias go dormant in the winter. Even when they flower, they are still basically dormant. I have had plants that looked good all winter outside, start having their leaves dry up and fall as soon as spring arrives. Upon examination, I found that the majority of their roots had been eaten off by voles. 5. You are doing good protecting them from the drying wind. If the day is above freezing, I would mist the leaves. Don't worry about some ice forming on the leaves, it will not hurt them. Your biggest danger is allowing the plant to discharge more water through it's leaves than the roots can pick up. Sorry for the overly long response. Oh, by the way, you made a good choice with Pink Icicle. It is a great camellia for your climate and is very hardy - excellent flowers - form & color. Unfortunately the voles or mice got mine last winter.
...See More
Summer grafting Japanese Maples
Q
Comments (16)
There's a major mis-step in the process... Prior to doing the carpentry, the leaves on the scion need to be clipped off leaving about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of petiole. The understock can either keep its leaves or really it doesn't matter. It's common to chop a 3 foot tall understock down to one foot where no leaves are and graft your scion right to that. No problem there. It's more than ok to chop the understock way down so it isn't tall as well. The plants may be sealed with all of the above mentioned materials. (parafilm, bud stip, rubber band) The grafted plants need to be placed under a large tree so they receive minimal light. Perfect conditions are dappled light. Or you need to create this type of an environment. A camping tent will do the same work in a barn for example. The graft will only be successful if the petioles turn black, then fall off to expose a healthy bud that has pushed from below the petiole. Actually, summer grafting is 100% less work due to time involved. The new graft should be known to have been a success in approximately 10-14 days give or take a week. Also, do not water the understock prior to grafting. You want it almost dry but just a bit moist. Too much water and you have a dead scion. After the graft shows success, place it in full shade for the next two full years. And... when you place it into shade, give it one week of keeping the understock almost bone-dry again, but giving it just enough water to not allow it to die. This is MAJOR. After that week, you can water it as often as you like. Heavy amounts of water won't do any harm. You still won't know if the graft is successfull until the following spring. Careful overwintering surely plays its part in the process. Don't go over 50 degrees F and you'll have given them enough cold for any dormancy requirements. Grafting ends about August the first for Maples. (Mid July - Beginning of August) You can also graft Ginkgo the same above-mentioned way. Ginkgo has a longer time-frame allowing grafting to continue into September first. Here's a photo of some summer maple grafts... Dax
...See More
Japanese Maple Sieryu + Coral Bark natural grafting
Q
Comments (6)
I think that is a VERY bad idea...there is NO reason to believe the root stock is special from one new growth branch ......you can buy 10 red Acer palmatum generic seed growns for what one nice Seiryu may cost. Both green and red A.P.'s are used for root stock the latter a bit more rare since many growers can sell them to umknowing folks for biggeer bucks than the green even though they most likely will be ORDINARY...Ideally they should match but most growers are too busy, lazy, or just don't care.... and the green is always much cheaper especially larger diameter RS for the same reason above they can sell them for 25$$ or more in 3-4 years. Whatever keeping an unknown and throwing out a Known cultivar is at the very least ignorant and very short sited IMHO...But one persons decisions may be so while anothers is otherwise ...that is my opinion but it is not my tree , decision and I am NOT infallable so make your own choice!! David
...See More
Jap Maple- Must I prune or can I leave it alone
Q
Comments (24)
I see that censorship is alive and well on the Gardenweb. I've seen a lot of Japanese maples in my life and I've seen many with multiple branches low on the trunk but never one that has several trunks coming out of the ground like in the photos that Dave posted. It truly does look like a shrub. That look is not my cup of tea for a Japanese maple. If I want something that looks like a lilic then I'll go buy the lilac. IMHO, the Burgandy Lace was not pruned properly when it was younger although that it strictly from a viewpoint of aesthetics and not structural abnormalities. Looking at it's branching structure, I don't see any branches that resemble the acute angle on the maple in this thread. I still maintain that the latter needs a pruning job to correct for a structural defect. A tree that gets this large is going to act like a sail. Consequently, the wind is going to get leverage on any tall trunks that branch low on the tree. I am not saying that a Japanese maple needs to be pruned to look like an oak tree or any other really large tree. What I am saying is that sound pruning practices are applicable for any plants above a certain size. It is irresponsible and amateurish to suggest otherwise. It is also hypocritical to suggest this for some trees but not others not to mention confusing for anyone new to the Gardenweb. I must respond to one of the deleted posts. Basically, it was stated that this tree will not recover and fill out from pruning off the second leader. K4 hit the nail on the head in his response which was that the tree will throw out a lot of new growth next year after this leader is pruned off. This new growth will provide plenty of opportunity to shape the tree into a far better look than it has now. Without question, the tree will quickly fill out and I question the practical experience of anyone who states otherwise.
...See More
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
You could always try the same approach growers use to "create" multi-trunked birch trees (aka clump birches) and that is to plant 2-3 seedlings either in the same container or in close proximity in the ground. As they mature, they grow together to form a multi-trunked specimen. You will need to allow room for their trunks to expand, much as houzi describes above, so give them some room. The clump birch growers often direct the seedlings at a slight slant away from each other to avoid that interior trunk congestion, which if planted too tightly will just accumulate debris and moisture and cause problems. I will say I have never personally seen or heard of this done with JM's but don't see why it couldn't work. I would also agree that seedling JM's left to their own devices will often develop a very low branching habit without benefit of a clear trunk that the grafting provides. If you have enough seedlings, you might want to try it a few different ways.

FYI, your seedlings may have come from a Bloodgood but they themselves are NOT Bloodgoods - only just generic Acer palmatum seedlings :-) You can only get a "true" Bloodgood from grafting or other asexual propagation from a known Bloodgood stock plant.
Mike McGarvey
7 years ago
You can let one tree branch down low like I did, but eventually some branches grew too wide for the snow load and those branches had to be removed. The bright red ones on the left in this case.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i283/Botann/Winter%202012-13/006.jpg

I have planted a few seedling Japanese maples with different Fall colors to see what they would look like together. One usually grows faster than the other and needs pruning to limit it's growth so the other can grow. I just don't have time for a lot of that because my garden is rather large and now all combos have been reduced to one maple.

Mike
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
TJ

The Pictures on that "Pleaching" Link are astonishing

Just feel like Treated myself to a "Plaited Loaf"

Stephen,Cheshire.UK
Ryan Martin
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

The reason I asked this question in the first place is because of a tree I pass near my house that I find to be amazing. It's a massive Japanese maple of some sort, but looks more orange than what I normally see. Very unique and hard to capture its beauty.

I tried though. My neighbors probably think I'm crazy, but I got the best shots I could just now:

I had noticed that the trunk on this tree was actually a cluster of trunks. Here's a detailed picture of the trunk:

This got me thinking of a few things. I wondered if this actually started as several trees that grew together, or if this was a natural thing that happens to maple of this sort.

I also wondered if the tree was able to grow so massive because of a multi-trunk base.

Does this seem natural?

Here's a closeup of the leaves

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks
privatejapanesemaplesanctuary
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Love the 2nd to last Picture Ryan

Thats one Mighty "Bear Hug" of a Maple

Love the Idyllic Surroundings

Stephen,Cheshire.UK
Mike McGarvey
7 years ago
I would guess it is just one tree. All the leaves are the same, not just in form, but color.

Mike
Mike Letizia
last year
last modified: last year
Where did everyone go???

Ryan,

Did you try anything??

I just bought a multi trunk Bloodgood to replace my dying one, not sure how it was created though.

I don't have 30 years left to wait.

Never thought to take some cuttings or air layer it. (Duhhh)

Related Stories

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Great Design Tree: Japanese Maple

By Annie Thornton

Lacy form and fiery fall color make Japanese maple a welcome tree for garden or patio

TREES 11 Japanese Maples for Breathtaking Color and Form

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

With such a wide range to choose from, there’s a beautiful Japanese maple to suit almost any setting

GARDENING GUIDES 13 Japanese Maples for Shade

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

A surprising variety of these understory trees is waiting to make a statement in your shade garden

FRONT YARD IDEAS Before and After: Front Lawn to Prairie Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

How they did it: Homeowners create a plan, stick to it and keep the neighbors (and wildlife) in mind

LANDSCAPE DESIGN The Unparalleled Power of Trees

By Donald Pell - Gardens

Discover the beauty and magic of trees, and why a landscape without them just isn't the same

GARDENING GUIDES Garden Myths to Debunk as You Dig This Fall and Rest Over Winter

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Termites hate wood mulch, don’t amend soil for trees, avoid gravel in planters — and more nuggets of garden wisdom

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Best-Behaved Trees to Grace a Patio

Big enough for shade but small enough for easy care, these amiable trees mind their manners in a modest outdoor space

LIFE 10 Ways to Honor and Remember a Departed Loved One at Home

By Charmean Neithart Interiors

Help the grieving process and keep beautiful memories alive with these thoughtful tributes

GARDENING GUIDES New Ways to Think About All That Mulch in the Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Before you go making a mountain out of a mulch hill, learn the facts about what your plants and soil really want

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 7 Great Trees for Summer Shade and Fall Color

By Tiffany Carboni

These landscape-pro faves straddle the seasons beautifully. Could one enhance your own yard?

Sponsored

Mosaic Design Studio

Creating Thoughtful, Livable Spaces For You in Franklin County

More Discussions

Usugumo HTF : Hard to Find

2

Acer First Flame

3

Nursery Container Mediums - Sand ?

0

Scion Height When Grafting

0