HI i am brand new to this list -- an enthusiastic Canadian amateur! i am hoping to find acer palmatum seeds of varieties which are always red (atropurpureum, bloodgood, & open to more exotic options) to be used for bonsai. did anyone collect an abundance that they are willing to share? please let me know, P@ pat@peppersunlight.com
Pat, I have extra Acer seed from about 20 cultivars that I collected around Oct and stored in my fridge. Are there any restrictions on sending this from the US to Canada? Send me an email and I will make up a list of what I have available. Thanks, Ed
If this doesn't work out look for seed or seedlings on/under nice purpleleaf specimens nearby. You can actually tell the purpleleaf seedlings while dormant by their stem color (purpleleaf maples give off both green and purple seedlings). Seed of these should be gathered when fully developed but still fresh and green or red, rather than when hard and brown, as you are supposed to get much better results.
thanks for the insight -- i did not know that purpleleaf maples produce green & purple seedlings?!? some sort of regression to a natural state or ?? does this mean that if one is to buy atropurpureum seed (for example) (like from a commercial greenhouse or online) that some of the sprouted seedlings will be green? approx what per cent? Is there any way to notice a difference in the seed before planting and another question i have is whether different acer palmatum seeds cross-pollinate (for instance if you have two different species planted next to each other will the resulting seed always be true to the mother plant)? i know peppers and other veggies (which are not heirloom) will often produce different or mal-formed fruit And, what is the difference in stem colour? regardless & unfortunately for me, i do not know of any acer palmatum specimens in my vacinity where i can gather seeds or seedlings. I live in a remote mountainous region -- hence my plea to this list! i know i'm full of questions -- thx for your support & encouragement, P@
You may get seed of any purple Japanese maple as Acer palmatum atropurpureum. For a parent with good color look for a named form. Even then, plants sold as 'Bloodgood' may be seedlings with inferior color. If you could gather your own, fresh seed (next fall) from a source tree you can examine in person and determine to have the desired attributes that will probably be the best way to assure quality control. Or get seeds from someone who you can communicate with directly, who can make desired assurances. If no such party pops up here maybe try GardenWeb.
Be aware that very few Japanese Maples come true from seed in any event, so they will seldom be true to the mother plant The good side of this is the adventure and the chance of producing some really beautiful free plants
Quote:does this mean that if one is to buy atropurpureum seed (for example) (like from a commercial greenhouse or online) that some of the sprouted seedlings will be green? approx what per cent ? Is there any way to notice a difference in the seed before planting and another question i have is whether different acer palmatum seeds cross-pollinate (for instance if you have two different species planted next to each other will the resulting seed always be true to the mother plant)? i know peppers and other veggies (which are not heirloom) will often produce different or mal-formed fruit. /Unquote Most maple seeds are not pure or thorough-breds even if the mother plant belongs to a distinct specie. Maples have been cultivated in close proximity with other maple species for centuries in Japan. As the flowers are cross pollinated by air, a lot of hybridization went on naturally and thus their seeds are not true to type. There is no way you can predict the outcome from seed physical features. Quote:does this mean that if one is to buy atropurpureum seed (for example) (like from a commercial greenhouse or online) that some of the sprouted seedlings will be green? approx what per cent? Yes, some will be green (usually a lower percentage). What percentage is more difficult to tackle. In hybridization, the resultant seeds do not follow a defined genetic configuration but rather they are randomly predetermined, thus this feature accounts for the huge genectic diversity in seeds from the same mother plant. I have an A. Palmatum Athropurpurum plant which gives a rather high % of purple leaf seedlings 80%. From my experience, the full moon species give the most variation whereas A. Dissectum viridis (fern leaf maple) give the least. As you live in BC, anytime you come to Vancouver around late Oct./Nov.(time when seeds may be collected), visit the Riverview Hospital (located in the suburb called Coquitlam) trees in their grounds (these trees make up the trees in the First Botanigal Garden in BC before it moved to UBC). They have a fair representation of maples of different species and being very mature trees have lots of seeds within arm reach. Collecting a handfull does no harm as these seeds will not germinate as the grounds are completely turfed. Whenever you visit this place make sure you don't miss the oldest 'Dawn Redwood' (over 50 years) in BC and maybe even in Canada (?) which tree was defined as extinct in the 1940s, until an anthropologist spotted the only living specimen in a remote valley in China. Since its discovery, botanists had rooted stems and germinated seeds and sent them all over the world. Today I guess all botanical gardens have at least one specimen.
very interesting indeed. wish i had known before; i was in vancouver in november and could have swung by Riverview ... next year! when i was a child growing up in vancouver, we had 2 matching japanese maples on either side of the driveway, which met in mingled branches over the driveway (pruned as to not obstruct the view from the living room windows above). They were great for climbing & they always held a christmas light display of pure red bulbs in the winter. The trees faced west and were always a deep red from the moment the leaves arrived in spring until the were all wrinkled up and i'd have the duty of raking up the leaves from the stairs and driveway (they would make things very slippery w/ the vancouver rain). They must have been 15 feet tall with thick, aged branches. Five-point, non-dissected leaves, but i do not know what exact cultivar they were -- they started my interest in acer palmatum. the trees were cut down (along with a massive cedar & flowering dogwoods in the back yard) when the house was demolished (about 15yrs ago) -- the trees (& the house) would have been about 90yrs old at that time and it was a huge blow. I think 3 different houses have been built on that lot since! coincidentally, when i was a youth, i collected a seedling from under one of the trees and planted it in a pot where it lived (always outside) for many years. When we moved out of that house, my dad planted the tree in the garden at their new place where it is thiving (about 8 feet tall currently @ 20yrs old) -- The leaves on the young tree are not exactly how i remember the originals though?!? well anyway, it is through this experience that i find myself interested in acer palmatum and growing some more! thx for your help, P@
P@ I am glad that you have such a strong bond with your maple and hope you have many successes and pleasures in the other maples you will grow in the future. Best wishes.
P@ I'm not sure where you are located, but I have access to Bloodgood seeds in autumn and in fact always have several seedlings sprout each year from the same seed (my neighbour's tree overhangs my garden). If you would like I can send you some come "harvest" time. Please send me a PM if this is of interest to you. Linda
Ed, Am new to UBC and was checking through some of the forums and found this one. Would be so grateful for some maple seeds if you still have some. Only two of the seedlings I brought with us on our move last year survived. Am not sure if they will be green or red palmatums. I have many kousa dogwoods-do not know variety-but could send you one if you want. Thanks. cella jane KY/6
zara You brought up an interesting point and I would like to add my personal observation, if I am permitted. Very often I have seen bloodgroup specimens sold in nurseries which look closer to A. Palmatum Athropurpurum than Bloodgroup, especially if they are not the grafted types. Most likely the original bloodgroup is a spot of a red Palmatum or a mutant seedling and had been propagated by repetitive grafting that ensures true clones. Thus the genetic pool for bloodgroup is very limited and may one day succumb to some form of disease like the quick stem rot mentioned somewhere else. I also have greater faith in seedlings than grafted cultivar as they have better genetic resistance to diseases.
Cella Jane, All of the seed I had this year has been used. Please feel free to send me a message next fall and I will be glad to send some seed to you. As stated in post above, my seed is collected from different cultivars that are planted in my gardens with about 150 Japanese Maples and in most cases do not resemble the parent plant. I veiw seedlings as an intresting opportunity to see the varied results. It should not be used if you wish to obtain a particular cultivar. Ed
