Hello from first time poster. There's a historic Maple in a historic cemetery near me. The tree is slowly but clearly dying. The non-profit "Friends" of this cemetery wish to graft this tree to preserve it for replanting and to make little momento trees to give to people involved in the upkeep of the cemetery. I am the organizations' IT person. I also have a keen interest in all things tree. I have only ever grafted fruit trees like apple, pear and peach trees. I've done dozens of successful grafts but I am still very much an amateur. I've been planning this for some months now. I cut scions yesterday then refrigerated them just as I would do with an apple tree. But this Plantanoides isn't an apple. So now I'm stuck. I don't know what rootstock I can use or where to buy it. I'm 99% sure the tree is a Norway. I'm also 99% sure most people consider it an invasive pest. But this tree means a great deal to the people involved. So I offered to help. I made cuttings yesterday I also tried some air layering even though it's probably way too early to get a successful rooting this way. I wanted to try something before another storm finished the tree off for good. I'm in need of advice on the type(s) of understock I can use and where to buy this understock. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. Regards, Tim
Norway maple is a horrid weed in the northern United States. Even though it is still propagated and sold by large commercial nurseries I would not recommend doing anything to propagate and disperse any examples of the tree on an individual basis. If the failing cemetery specimen has been correctly identified as Acer platanoides, then, frankly, the more appropriate response is "Good riddance!" rather than a special effort to clone and perpetuate it. Even in seemingly comparatively unsuitable, summer-dry Greater Seattle at least one wooded park ravine eventually became flooded with thousands upon thousands of Norway maple seedlings. In recent years volunteers have been pulling them out.
Gosh Ron, you old softy. ;) Hi Tim, Although I can't suggest a source for rootstock, I wish you luck with your project. Your best bet is to use platanoides rootstock, although theoretically anything in the section -- that exudes white latex -- would do. I wonder if grafting onto A. campestre (field maple) would give a smaller tree eventually. The Norway maple cultivars I have in my collection are grafted onto Norway maple rootstock. If I were trying to do this, and I had a couple of years to accomplish it, I'd grow my own stock. Platanoides is easy to propagate by seed, which accounts for it's invasive nature in the US. Because the new wood is of large cross section, it shouldn't present any particular problem to graft. You might contact one of the large nurseries that are propagating it, explain your problem, and see what they suggest for getting hold of understock. With luck you'll come across a sympathetic ear who will help you directly, since you don't need very much. Good luck! -E
Thank you both for sharing your knowledge and experience. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer my question. Regards, Tim
