I need your help and advice. I have 7 Japanese Red Maples that are 3 to 4 years old. I bought these from our local Lowe's and all had been grafted. They are still in the orginal plastic pots I bought them in and they are all happy trees. I want to take cuttings from these trees and graft the cuttings. Can I graft these cuttings to plain old green maple tree stock from the forest? Also if I take these cuttings can I treat them with rooting power and place in my soil mixture to take root? How long should I leave them undisturbed so they will take root? I also have seeds from one tree. How should I handle these? Thank you so much for your time and for your help. Sincerely Rodney urb2165@bellsouth.net
Rodney, No, you cannot graft Japanese Maples onto wild maple seedlings. They need to be grafted onto a compatible species - usually another Japanese Maple seedling. Cuttings are another matter and I have no experience with them. Seeds must be collected in the fall and stored in the fridge over the winter in a moist medium, like peat moss or perlite. They will not sprout without a period of cold (called "stratification").
K4. Thank you so very much for your reply. I am planning on using my Japanese Maples as Bonsai. That will require me to cut them back dramactily. I was hoping to be able to graft these cuttings. Thanks Rodney
Rodney, You might try Topiary Gardens ( www.topiary-gardens.com ). Diana sometimes sells JM seedlings for grafting purposes, but I would call to ask her. Doubt she will advertize that on the web site. Also be aware that grafting must be done with stems from new growth. Old wood will not take, so only some of your pruned branches will be suitable. I made a slide show of my grafting efforts, if that would be of any help. If you go to the top of the Maple Forum page there's a Maple FAQ section, and this thread is in there (2nd one). Look on page two for the link to the slide show. There are also other how-to's on rooting cuttings and growing from seed in the FAQ section. Here's the link: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=48128
URB, Rooting cuttings is an excellent approach for bonsai. Dax over at Garden Forum posted a few details describing his technique.
