B & J wrote:
"Jean B." wrote in message
...
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. --
Jean B.

Lots of luck! I tried taking cuttings from a Japanese maple
(Bloodgood) three years in a row with zero success. The cuttings
remained looking good for three months but failed to root. Finally
they obviously died. BTW, I use deep six packs in a peat moss/sand
mixture for all cuttings and wait until roots start appearing
through the bottom of the six pack before potting in ProMix.

Since then I've been advised to start Japanese maples by layering
and was also told that it takes two years for the layered branches
to root. I layered a number of branches a year ago this spring, and
a couple that I check this spring had not rooted. I'm hoping for
better luck by next spring.

A couple who raise Japanese maples for the wholesale trade in our
area told our gardening group this past spring that all their
maples are started from collected seeds and that most are true to
the parent plant. At the moment I have a half dozen potted
seedlings that sprouted around the base of one of the trees.

JPS

Are you taking heel or node cuttings? In what month?

--

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