Rightly or wrongly I have covered the top of the soil of my maple trees in large pots in that black permeable cloth then added slate chips as a means of keeps weeds down..this year I notice that several of the pots with the cloth cover have maple seedlings with various leaf patterns growing through the cloth and up through the slate..how the seeds got under the cloth I don’t know amazing! I have cut the cloth dug them out and potted them up.. not sure how long they take from seedlings to grow to small trees..and whether they are viable.I have a greenhouse so will put them in there from October ? to protect from the UK frosts.
Hi dicky, seedlings are great, you never know what you will get. They will take a good couple of years to establish into 1 foot plants with pencil thick stems. They are used a majority of time to graft scions into from named cultivars. Winter frosts are not a problem, the only protection in pots through winter is from water logging. We have a few seedlings we have kept due to unusual colour. We have labelled them as 'our own seedlings'. Just a comment on the slate clippings, we have done this in the past in pots, but now use bark as the slate is heavy and causes compaction, maples are shallow rooting and need oxygen to the roots.
Thanks..Am excited to see what they grow into..I just can’t fathom how the seeds got under the cloth! Maybe they germinated above and grew through it. Noted re slate/broken terracotta I imagine the cloth cover makes the oxygenation angle even worse..although I have not seen any detrimental effects myself..tbh I've not been replacing it as I pot them on...I’ll try bark as you say.. here’s a Baldsmith that needs pitting on..I’ll try the bark
A few weeks on the seedlings that had propagated themselves appear to be doing ok..I notice some crispy edges to quite a few leaves but not all..I’ve kept them in dappled sunlight (uk)..outside..well sheltered from wind under the canopy of larger trees..well watered but trying not to water log them, as I understand this is terminal. Any ideas why some leaves have gone crispy..maybe it’s because they are getting some degree of wind..even though there are trees all around them.. any thoughts welcome..thank you
Hi dicky, I think it's the wind, we have had the same problem with very strong and drying winds this year. We try and mist ours with rainwater in the late evenings and this does help a little. Next year yours will be a lot stronger to cope.
So my seedlings have just dropped/are dropping their leaves and look like this..do these look like interesting trees or just under stock quality in a couple of years? The heavily dissected one in the 2nd pic looks like it could be rather interesting..I’ve picked up the leaves as they had already dropped and put them on show so you can see
Hi Rich, Seedlings are extremely variable over the first few years. It's really hard to say even that you will end up with a dissected plant after the first year. Your pic #2 does look like it might be a Hagoromo-type, (Sessifolium Group) which are fairly common if one of this group is a possible parent. After 3-4 years you'll be able to say with some certainty which group the seedlings fall into. If you do get a Dissectum Group, be aware they are very fickle seedlings and apt to die suddenly. You have to pay a lot of attention to culture and above all don't over fertilize. I lost a very pretty dark red (almost black) Dissectum seedling this year, I have no idea why it wilted and died. It had a decent root even. Oh well, that's maples for you! :) best, -E
I do have a Hagoromo close to where I found the seedlings..we’ll see. Interesting comments about the dissectum seedlings being sensitive..what a shame you lost yours, I bet you had some plans for that one..taking on board what Acerholic said about them getting water logged I’ve covered them with a frame and sheet of plastic..will water occasionally over winter.. thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.
