Jean B. wrote:
I am pleased to see my Japanese maple cutting, perhaps three weeks
old, still looks good. How long should I wait until I consider it
a success? Six weeks? If I am so lucky (this would be a first),
how do I transplant it from the medium I have it in (ca 50-50 sand
and peat) without damaging its roots?

If this actually does succeed, I will try a few more cuttings from
my beloved plants. I tried some last year but didn't read up on it
first. This year, I have changed the medium, cut some of the
leaves in half, and put the potted cutting in a plastic bag to
conserve moisture. My first attempts ended up covered with mold. This
one looks fine--no mold, and the leaves look fresh and strong.

I have a book called "Cuttings through the Year" published by The
Arboretum Foundation Washington Park Arboretum. It talks about growing
cuttings in flats and when you transplant from the flat to individual
pots the roots should be trimmed to the drip line to encourage feeder
roots and again when the cutting is put in its final growing spot. The
book says cuttings may take from 3 weeks to over a month to root. Soft
wood cuttings (current years growth) are suggested. It also suggests
the cuttings be taken in June or July but that is for the PNW.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5