Hey! I found tons of bloodgood seedlings in my mothers yard and was wondering what the odds were they would survive and grow into big trees? The momma tree is very old. I only took 5 but there are 50-100 or so...I was gonna go back and grab more.
growing seedlings onto maturity can be enormous fun and addictive! carefully dig them out with as much soil & root mass as possible. I put them into good potting soil 3-4 inch diameter pots and watch them daily. the only problem with Bloodgood is I have found they resemble the mother tree quite but you can always get those new genetics which is fun too. I move them up into 1 gallon pots after a year or 2. new life is exciting. have FUN!!!
The survival rate will increase if you don't live far from your mothers and you are in the same USDA Zone. I would also find out where and how to best plant a Japanese Maple. I would plant them in the ground if possible, living it Connecticut has got to be on the border line of it's range. Planting it in the ground would allow it to have the protection of all that snow you get.
I've grown several seedlings from Bloodgoods and other JM varieties and they have all grown well. I put them in a small pot the first year with good quality potting soil and repot each fall into bigger containers. My Bloodgood seedling keeps its deep red color all summer, as well as my Trompenburg. I had another Bloodgood seedling that started out red in spring and turned reddish green during the summer. I gave that one to a friend, but they forgot to water it and it died during the drought last summer.
