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.

"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?




I would consider it a success when I saw some vigorous new growth.


--
Toni
South Florida USA
Zone 10b
http://ww.cearbhaill.com

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

"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

B & J wrote:

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


To the first, oh sigh. I'd better not get my hopes up. I thought I had
read that Japanese maple seeds did not guarantee a tree like the parent.
That being said, a) I have a number of interesting little seedlings of
various ilks, which I have put into large pots (maybe a mistake), and b)
I could just kill the yard workers who mow around my trees. (I am
always hoping for interesting little seedlings.) I do wish the
seedlings that appeared around my Moonfire maple bore some resemblance
to it, but, thus far, no.

At least one of my trees would lend itself to layering, since it has low
branches. Or are you doing air layering? I have such a black
thumb--but I would love to propagate some of my maples.

Thanks,

--
Jean B.

Travis wrote:

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.

It seems to me that you need a fairly deep vessel to begin with, but I
must be wrong. I guess I shouldn't get my hope up. I took this cutting
in June, and it was this year's growth....

--
Jean B.

Toni wrote:

I would consider it a success when I saw some vigorous new growth.


Would one get vigorous new growth this year, given the fact that spring
is past?

--
Jean B.

"Jean B." wrote in message
...

To the first, oh sigh. I'd better not get my hopes up. I thought I had
read that Japanese maple seeds did not guarantee a tree like the parent.

I read that too, but the lady doing the presentation said that was not true.
Anyway, the seedling that I collected around the tree this past spring are
now about 4" tall and have the same wine-red leaf color as the parent tree.
Another seedling from that tree that I gave to a neighbor two years ago is
now about three feet tall and I would have difficulty distinguishing it from
the parent as for as leaf color and growing habits go. Perhaps this is
working because I only have two maples in the yard and both are bloodgoods.
At least one of my trees would lend itself to layering, since it has low
branches. Or are you doing air layering? I have such a black thumb--but
I would love to propagate some of my maples.

No, I am no air layering. I removed the mulch until I reached soil
underneath, dug a shallow trench, scraped the bottom of the branch where is
came in contact with the soil (The irritation seems to promote rooting.),
covered the bottom of the branch with soil, replaced the mulch, and anchored
the branch with a rock. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

JPS


Thanks,

Jean B.

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

Jean B. wrote:
B & J wrote:

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


To the first, oh sigh. I'd better not get my hopes up. I thought
I had read that Japanese maple seeds did not guarantee a tree like
the parent. That being said, a) I have a number of interesting
little seedlings of various ilks, which I have put into large pots
(maybe a mistake), and b) I could just kill the yard workers who
mow around my trees. (I am always hoping for interesting little
seedlings.) I do wish the seedlings that appeared around my
Moonfire maple bore some resemblance to it, but, thus far, no.

At least one of my trees would lend itself to layering, since it
has low branches. Or are you doing air layering? I have such a
black thumb--but I would love to propagate some of my maples.

Thanks,

Don't kill the yard workers, fire them.

--

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

Jean B. wrote:
Travis wrote:

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.
It seems to me that you need a fairly deep vessel to begin with,
but I must be wrong. I guess I shouldn't get my hope up. I took
this cutting in June, and it was this year's growth....

The rooting medium need only be 4" deep and the cutting should not be
over 4". None of the leaves should touch the medium. Rooting hormone
may help. Since Maples are hardwood "heel cuttings are especially
desirable for material that is difficult to propagate and for hardwood
cuttings."

Maybe Paghat will chime in here. I have never tried to propagate any
trees but bought the book for reference and futere use.

--

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

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

To the first, oh sigh. I'd better not get my hopes up. I
thought I had read that Japanese maple seeds did not guarantee a
tree like the parent.

I read that too, but the lady doing the presentation said that was
not true. Anyway, the seedling that I collected around the tree
this past spring are now about 4" tall and have the same wine-red
leaf color as the parent tree. Another seedling from that tree that
I gave to a neighbor two years ago is now about three feet tall and
I would have difficulty distinguishing it from the parent as for as
leaf color and growing habits go. Perhaps this is working because I
only have two maples in the yard and both are bloodgoods.
At least one of my trees would lend itself to layering, since it
has low branches. Or are you doing air layering? I have such a
black thumb--but I would love to propagate some of my maples.

No, I am no air layering. I removed the mulch until I reached soil
underneath, dug a shallow trench, scraped the bottom of the branch
where is came in contact with the soil (The irritation seems to
promote rooting.), covered the bottom of the branch with soil,
replaced the mulch, and anchored the branch with a rock. Now I'm
keeping my fingers crossed.

What you are doing is called "ground layering".

--

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

B & J wrote:

"Jean B." wrote:
[sm snip] I thought I had
read that Japanese maple seeds did not guarantee a tree like the parent.


I read that too, but the lady doing the presentation said that was not true.
Anyway, the seedling that I collected around the tree this past spring are
now about 4" tall and have the same wine-red leaf color as the parent tree.
Another seedling from that tree that I gave to a neighbor two years ago is
now about three feet tall and I would have difficulty distinguishing it from
the parent as for as leaf color and growing habits go. Perhaps this is
working because I only have two maples in the yard and both are bloodgoods.

Gee. None of the seedlings under my Moonfire have been at all like it,
In fact, none in front of the house have even been red, even though
all of the maples in front of the house are red-leaved. :-(

No, I am no air layering. I removed the mulch until I reached soil
underneath, dug a shallow trench, scraped the bottom of the branch where is
came in contact with the soil (The irritation seems to promote rooting.),
covered the bottom of the branch with soil, replaced the mulch, and anchored
the branch with a rock. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed.


That's what I am thinking of doing--esp since I have some nice low
branches on some of my trees. I might use big lawn staples to anchor them.

--
Jean B.

Travis wrote:

Jean B. wrote:
[snip] That being said, a) I have a number of interesting
little seedlings of various ilks, which I have put into large pots
(maybe a mistake), and b) I could just kill the yard workers who
mow around my trees. (I am always hoping for interesting little
seedlings.) I do wish the seedlings that appeared around my
Moonfire maple bore some resemblance to it, but, thus far, no.

[snip]

Don't kill the yard workers, fire them.

Well, honestly, they are MUCH better than the ones I have had before.
And this whacking and mowing too near the trees is a new thing. I will
have to talk with them, because that is something this outfit knows not
to do. I think the new workers just have not been properly trained for
some reason. (This company, in general and theoretically, mows high,
does not whack around trees, does not bury the bases of trees in mulch,
etc., etc. It is hard to find such companies here.)

--
Jean B.

Travis wrote:

The rooting medium need only be 4" deep and the cutting should not be
over 4". None of the leaves should touch the medium. Rooting hormone
may help. Since Maples are hardwood "heel cuttings are especially
desirable for material that is difficult to propagate and for hardwood
cuttings."

Maybe Paghat will chime in here. I have never tried to propagate any
trees but bought the book for reference and futere use.

I have to look up "heel cuttings". Of course, why I, with a black thumb
or two would even attempt this is a mystery--except for the fact that I
love Japanese maples....

--
Jean B.