as soon as the new growth starts in early spring. Not to late right now if you are not in a really hot area. graft the piece into your root stock then bend the root stock branch over in an arch, so that it's past 90 degrees to the ground, and the grafted piece is at the top of the arch. This will encourage more energy to go the the graft. Once the graft has solid growth, cut away the root stock above the graft and let the branch straighten back up. A big rubber band is a good way to keep the arch in the root stock.

"By calling it "excessive" you are saying you have a basis for knowing more was used than was needed" Yes and no! A lot of growers grow plants based on units of N per growing season (P,K and minors come into play also...but N drives the plant). They know "apply this much in a year and this is normally the result for a saleable plant of a given grade". I personally question it because of what was not known when a given growers standard was aquired or learned. Yes, plants can be grown of sufficient growth to meet grade without using the "units of N" or other excessive nutrients(but the "rule of thumb" is pretty close if you want to keep it simple, many do this)....it is just hard to teach drivers how to drive after many years of practice. I am not saying it is right, just stating the reality of growing plants for a public who wants large plants for a small price. What a commercial operation applies does not always apply to the final home of their plants.But commercial growers do know a thing or two about growing plants, no one can take that away from them. Keep it simple, if your plants look good to YOUR eyes, they might be pretty happy.........

As with anything else take with caution and enjoy. I have used the fruit mostly for pies and sauces. I have also used the whole fruit dried like a spice in my cooking. Great for heavy stews etc. I don't de-pit for drying as spice and we're still alive and healthy! I have yet to use it for the famous Italian liquor or the leaf tea. I have experimented with the pits in letting them sit in a tiny amount of sugar/water solution and there seems to be a sap that eventually comes out. Does anyone know what it contains and if it is useable in any way?

I water them about three to four times a week. I use clay pots and I water them until the water drains from the pot. The heat around the gulf south keeps me busy making sure that they do not dry out. I have built a table complete with a protective burlap enclosure to protect the trees from direct midday to late afternoon sun. It is porous, so the trees get some sunlight. The table is only two weeks old, so I need to keep an eye on sun position and exactly how much or little light reaches the "Maple" Table and adjust accordingly. I might have to move the table or remove some burlap to allow more light in (if necessary.) I received an Orange Dream that was in very good shape when I received it roughly two weeks ago. Some of the new growth comes in with black tips nothing else just black tips. I know this is not usual and none of the older leaves have these black tips and the trunk and all stems are perfectly fine. Does anyone reading this know what the cause may be? Lastly do maples leaves suffer from being repotted? I repotted the afore mentioned Orange Dream from the pot it was grafted in to a nice clay pot and water it regularly. Can repotting the tree in the summer damage the leaves until it fully adjusts to the new pot and climate? None of the leaves look like they are suffering so much that they will fall off.