Any potting soil will do peat based stuff dries out fast so keep it to a minumin... you can root certain JM's but not easily... success rate is poor in my experience and not all varieties will do so ...most say keep two to three years before you get too attached since survival rate varies. Finally as stated over and over and ignored by unscrupulous ebay sellers and others... NO jm seeds are true to mother plant with any certainty so best to NOT name your seed as any specific cultivar ...just JAPANESE MAPLE SEEDS!!!! remember many of todays "new' cultivars were chosen from JAPANESE MAPLE SEEDED seedlings...I repeat NEW not the same...Thats not to say you can't have fun and find neat new plants but PLEASE refer to them as JM seeds as you correctly did in your subject line since that is REALLY all they are ...not that there is anything wrong with that ;>) David

Tell me how to graft them! Been trying for 3 years to graft and all have failed. I am going to try air layer grafting next. It worked for my citrus after I failed at trying to graft them. Take spagum moss, the real stuff not tree moss most garden centers are selling the whole not ground up kind that you use to line hanging baskets with. Take a young one year old branch, not one that is older and the bark has gotten brown with age. Take a sharp knife and slice diagonally along the branch about half way thru the branch. dust with the root hormone powder in the cut. Important, put something plastic like a toothpick or a stirring stick you get from a Macdonalds in the cut to hold it open or it might grow back together. Next wrap with the moss and tie it in place with a thin pc of string. Also the moss needs to be Damp. you can try wetting it before wrapping or after. I did it later.. Anyway the next step is to put a piece of plastic over the whole thing. I prefer a white or black garbage bag that I rip the bottom corner off of and cut a hole in the tip so I can slide the pc down branch and over the moss. I then tie bottom side off first and then top. I don't use clear bag beause too much light promotes leaf not root growth and be careful of using black if it gets too hot it might cook the graft. try also cutting off tip of branch so it forces it not to continue putting energy into the branch growing longer. About once a week check bag to make sure moss is not drying out and add water until it runs out bottom. Hope fully after 2 to 3 months you will see roots in bag. If you get it to take, cut off below bag and take plastic off and plant, moss and all. This is best done in spring because plant is growing but doesn't hurt to try now just pick a branch that you don't mind losing if it doesn't work. Charles

Japanese maples do not produce large or aggressively spreading root systems. One of their great advantages, as that means these small trees can be planted in very close proximity to structures or paved surfaces without concern and one encounters this frequently with JM's. If the tree has already been there 40 years, any damage the tree might have created would already be present as the root system will be at a full, mature spread. Attempting to install root barriers now will only serve to severely damage the root system and would very likely cause the demise of the tree. If an inspection of the property DOES indicate damage to the slab - which I highly doubt - then your best bet is to remove the tree completely.

This topic comes up from time to time on the Maples forum - a mature JM located in an awkward position and is too large and attractive to just chop down. Besides, mature Japanese maples are valuable trees - certainly someone should be willing to pay for it at a discounted value, right?? The problem is the cost and effort involved in safely digging and moving the tree usually greatly exceeds its value. Unless, as mentioned, it is an extremely unique and venerable and sought after specimen. And can be approached easily with the necessary equipment for removal. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case. It could be hand dug, but I had a client do that once on a tree somewhat smaller than the one described and it took weeks of spare-time work to free the rootball safely. In my area, nurseries will only purchase from licensed vendors so chances are you are looking at a private party sale or perhaps a landscaper looking for some discounted stock. You could try Craigslist for a u-dig, u-haul customer (if you don't mind strangers terrorizing your property) but I wouldn't expect to realize much income from the transaction. And just to confirm mainegrower's statement - Japanese maples do NOT produce any tap roots :-))