Did you know that Acer palmatum is now in the database of Plants Invading Natural Areas of the United States?, where are located those unhappy people suffering from those dreaded invaders?, it must be unbearable, poor them, specially in the Fall!!! http://www.invasive.org/weedus/subject.html?sub=3001 Gomero
Very Interesting find Gomero. I guess i will have to go help weed them, LOL. I really cant understand that one at all. Of course after visting Eds this weekend maybe i can understand, they do seem to be invading his yard in a most beautiful way! Mike
Gomero, This was a topic of discussion at the Maple Society meeting held a few years back in PA. The problem occurs not in yards that people tend to care for but in wild areas were they can take over and block out native vegetation. Mike as you said, my garden has beds that I allow thousands of seedlings to grow for observation and they will grow anywhere including any crack in a walkway or in just plane stone. I happen to like this fact and control with Roundup were needed. I do however understand how this would bother the native plant people. Ed
Ed, I was actually just referring to all of the trees you planted. I dont see your seedlings ever spreading out and taking over native populations. I dont see how Acer palmatum seedlings could be considered invansive. Sure they germinate well, but you provide a very nice soil/mulched area for them to germinate and also weed out any native plants that sprout. Without that intervention, i do not see them overrunning any of the natives. I have several trees that i collect seedlings from. Some have been left in very native areas to fend for themselves. And the natives are having no problem keeping control. In fact the only way i can find the few seedlings that are surviving is to collect in early spring when the bright maple colors are easy to spot. I doubt we could find any areas where a Acer palmatum has been left in the wild and is overrunning anything. The Birmingham Al Botanical garden has a nice stand of 40-50ft green palmatums, that are littered with seedlings in the spring. But there are only a few that have grown for several years and are over 1ft tall. They are in a very native setting and the natives are having no problem keeping control. I will offer my weeding expertise next year though, you have some very pretty seedlings. As my wife knows the only weeding i do is to collect Acer seedlings, LOL. Thanks for a wonderful viewing last weekend, Mike
