I've always assumed that certain seeds require dormancy before
they'll
sprout.

Some do, others don't.

My mother-in-law has a beautiful 30+ year old multi-trunk A.
Palmatum
"Bloodgood" growing in her front yard.
Every spring it drops millions of miniature "helicopters" that
cover the
lawn, flowerbeds and fill the cracks in the sidewalk. Within
two weeks, the
ground is covered in little trees. It usually takes two months
of constant
lawn mowing, flowerbed picking and sidewalk pressure washing to
rid her yard
of them all. I've filled enough 1 gallon pots with seedlings to
go into my
own "Bloodgood Business" !!

Well, they're probably no longer "Bloodgoods" since the tree
probably doesn't seed true to type. But you can go into the Acer
palmatum business. ;-)

Is this normal ?

For some maples, yes (and other trees, too). The American red
(swamp) maple (Acer rubrum) germinates immediately, too. I could
go into the A, rubrum business. ;-)

Jim Lewis -

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++