Maybe this is a completely dumb question, but... What is the difference between a plant grown from a seed, & one that was grafted? When purchasing a maple, should I care? Which is better? Thanks for sharing your wisdom. Theodora
I don't know from wisdom, ;), but here's my take. Better depends on what you want it for. Plants that are named grafts (i.e. a cloned copy of the parent plant) have known and usually predictable characteristics. Like, how big, fall color, cold resistant, etc. So if you are either a collector or you have a plant that you want for a particular place (size, holds red color, etc) you probably want to go with a grafted plant. Virtually all plants (with a few exceptions from layering or rooting) sold in commerce as named cultivars by honest dealers are obtained by grafting. On the other hand, seed grown is probably a little more healthy and less disease prone, in my experience. Still, you really don't know what the plant is going to do in the long term, and as for its specific characteristics, they vary very widely from seedling to seedling in most of the maple genus. With seedlings you have the fun of finding out over the long term just what kind of maple you've got. And of course some are terrific, some are dull, etc. HTH. -E
Good questions. A seedling is new genetics just like you are different from your mother & father yet incorporate their genes as well. A seedling is sexually produced whereas a grafted cultivar is asexually reproduced by being grafted onto a host mother rootstock that contributes no genetics but does contribute its growth mechanisms. If you want a named cultivar (and there are a few thousand), - say 'Crimson Queen' you must buy a cloned cultivar of Crimson Queen where no new genetics has entered the equation. A seedling produced from a seed off that same Crimson Queen has new male pollen and so is a different mix of genetics and must be sold "as a seedling of Crimson Queen" NOT as Crimson Queen. Which is better depends on what you want per the above - be mindful that whether a seedling or a grafted named cultivar, both grow on roots - in the case of the seedling on its own generated roots and the named cultivar on the roots of the mother rootstock that itself was generated as a seedling. Hope this helps!
Thanks for all your responses! [I see from browsing the archives how mixed up the maple cultivars are, I don't see how anybody could keep track without genetic testing!]
