Cultivar spelling is corrected. Thanks to all that chimed in. In my garden everything has a shelf life. Well for that matter...a few are untouchable. Sooner or later I will determined what stays/goes or what relocates. I don't mean for it to be that way but space is space and you do with it as you see fit. The Acer was only 8-12 inches tall when given to me. That being the case it was planted at the best possible place at the time. In another few years I will move it to another location IF I Have the room. If not I will give it away to some appreciative person that will continue to care for it. Dave

Hey, Michael! Bare-rooting is a pretty easy process. Just tip the maple out of the pot and gently loosen/unwrap the roots. Hose the roots off until most of the old soil is gone. I prefer to work on a cloudy day (or else in the shade). Of course, you'll want to have a proper soil-mix prepared ahead of time for the re-potting. In mid-June 2008, I collected my first maple seedling. The root-ball was basically packed in this grey clay-like soil, and I didn't want to expose roots in the heat. I used a pine/fir bark mulch - the small stuff, decorative ground-cover. I think it was Micro Bark, by Greenall. Pure bark worked just fine. Here's a pic of that first seedling: Last summer, June-July 2009, I collected even more maple seedlings with this method - most of which were kept over winter and given to friends this spring. The only difference is that I now buy bags of "fine" grade Orchid Bark (an E.B. Stone product). I also started adding Perlite and pumice to the bark. Here's a pic of last summer's batch: During the winter, the trees were placed near a wall. It doesn't get real cold here, but these maples are at 2,300 feet elevation. One maple was simply slipped into a terra cotta pot, and bark was poured between the two for insulation and moisture. That maple, with the extra warmth, really wintered the best. This was in early May. The trees have been pruned hard since, and are still growing like crazy. After this season, they'll need to be re-potted. Those in large containers will have their roots pruned and will get fresh soil - but they'll go back into the same sized pots. Josh

If you asked for seeds a few months ago, folks would be eager to give them away. These trees are known to produce heavy unwanted seed crops but you're a few months too late. If you can't find a source for them, try again in february.

The one closest to my writing looks like some kind of Acer. The one smack bang in the middle of the second photo reminds me of my... it starts with P... it's a shrub... Philadelphis mexicana. Are you sure they are all trees? How did you grow them? From pieces? Seeds? Or some of each?